


i know you think that i erased you (you may hate me but i can't hate you)

by movingforthesakeofmotion



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: F/F, PREPARE YOURSELF PLEASE?, THIS IS GONNA BE SO ANGSTY IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY SO PREPARE YOURSELF, THIS IS STRAIGHT UP TORTURE AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING YET SO LIKE, YO I AM SO SORRY, abuse tw, drug abuse tw, god this is such a dark fic i am so so so sorry but like i live for the angst, self harm tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-06 19:51:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11043156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movingforthesakeofmotion/pseuds/movingforthesakeofmotion
Summary: For the first time in her life, something felt permanent.But at this point, after god knows how many schools and god knows how many states, she should've known.Nothing, nothing is permanent.Not even being a Power Ranger.AKA Trini leaves Angel Grove and the Rangers behind and returns five years later to witness the chaos that has become her four best friend's lives.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title from "Tell Me How" by Paramore.
> 
> Honestly, I'm so sorry. SO SORRY.
> 
> The first chapter is short because it's technically the prologue, so yeah! You know the drill! Comments are appreciated!

It starts in the hallway at Angel Grove High.

Trini lifts her headphones up from around her shoulders and shoves them back onto her head over her beanie, folds the piece of paper handed to her by the Principal with her timetable on it and shoves it unceremoniously into her bag, not paying attention as she kicks the door out into the hallway open.

Mistake number one.

She hits something, falls to the ground, disconnects her headphones by accident in the process, and has her music suddenly echo throughout the hallway for the world to hear, screams and heavy guitars and bass drums roaring as she hears the squeal before the scoff of disdain above her.

“Great, another freak. Watch where you’re going next time.” She’s on her knees, frantically grabbing her phone and hitting the pause button on her music before reaching for her books, which have fallen out of her bag.

She doesn’t respond, doesn’t even look, because she doesn’t like talking and she doesn’t like eye contact because she’ll be out of here before she learns anyone’s names.

Someone doesn’t get the message.

“Hey, sorry about that.” It’s a soft murmur, one that has Trini’s spine tingling as her hand freezes above one of her books, and then a slender hand is reaching out underneath hers and picking it up.

She gets a glance in.

Mistake number two.

Soft and incredibly kind brown eyes stare back at her, long brown locks cascading down over a cheerleading uniform and a small smile playing on pink lips that have Trini’s cheeks turning bright red as she ducks her head back down.

“Amanda can be a bitch sometimes. Well, all of the time.” The girl says, chuckling slightly. She holds Trini’s book out to her, and when she grabs it, their fingertips brush against each other.

Trini has to hold back the shiver that runs up her spine as she simply shoves it into her bag and stands before walking away, adjusting her beanie as she goes.

“Okay, nice talking to you!” The girl calls out. 

Trini learns later on in the day that her name is Kimberly Hart and she’s the cheerleading captain.

Mistake number three.

She manages to coax by for a few months with no trouble, keeps her head down, doesn’t talk to anyone and waits for her parents to tell her they’re moving again.

But they don’t.

An entire year passes and they’re still in Angel Grove and Trini hates it.

She hates the stupid school she goes to. She hates the stupid town she lives in. She hates Kimberly Hart and she hates that she can’t stop staring at her every day in fifth period Biology or when she walks down the hallway, her gaze joining everyone else’s.

Except everyone else’s gaze is filled with jealousy or lust and Trini’s...

Well, she doesn’t know what she feels when she looks at Kimberly, to be honest.

She has half a mind to tell her parents she’s being bullied so they’ll move again.

It wouldn’t be completely far from the truth.

No amount of music can block out the stares and smirks and laughter when she walks past.

At least she doesn’t cop it as bad as Billy Cranston, the autistic kid.

Part of her wants to stick up for him when she sees people fucking around with him. The other and more in control part of her wants to stay hidden and out of sight and not cause any trouble.

So she doesn’t.

For an entire year.

And then they find those fucking Power Coins.

They’re the most unlikely team of people Trini has ever seen in her entire life. 

The Avengers, the Justice League? Fuck ‘em. They haven’t got shit on the Power Rangers in terms of complete and utter lack of connection.

Trini hasn’t spoken a word to any of the other four people she finds her life entangled with, but now they’re a team of superheroes.

None of it makes sense.

Jason Scott, pretty blonde haired white boy, captain of the football team who fell from grace after a stupid prank. Billy Cranston, autistic kid with a heart of pure damn gold. Zack Taylor, who Trini has only seen at Angel Grove High once for about half an hour in the entire year she’s been there despite the fact that he’s a student there.

And Kimberly Hart. Ex cheerleading captain who leaked a bunch of nude photos of her best friend and chopped all her hair off for no reason.

Well, at least they all have their little quirks.

Trini has no idea how they manage to pull of saving the Universe, but they do.

Trini has no idea how these four people become more than her friends, but they do.

Trini has no idea when she begins to fall in love with Kimberly Hart, but she does.

Because Kimberly Hart is the kind of girl who gets straight A’s and the attention of every single person in the hallway when she struts down it with laced up boots and a smirk that craves attention.

And Trini Rodriguez is the kind of girl who scrapes by with B’s and C’s and doesn’t talk to anyone, because that requires effort and the potential of having someone engage in conversation and that’s honestly too much for her anxiety ridden brain to handle.

But now they’re superheroes in the same team, saving the universe and goddammit she’s falling love with the short haired brunette faster than Rita getting bitch slapped into space, never to be seen again.

Go figure.

Kimberly makes a habit of sticking to Trini like glue after they defeat Rita, and when Trini asks her why, she mumbles something about keeping her safe before shrugging, which Trini realizes is all the answer she’s ever going to get. 

She sneaks in through the window every night and sits with her before crashing out on the floor beside her and Trini eventually takes pity and pushes down the panic rising in her at the thought of sharing a bed with Kimberly before telling her it’d be better if she slept on the bed next to her.

Kimberly grumbles and says “it’s about time” before collapsing onto the bed beside her and falling asleep instantly.

Trini doesn’t sleep a wink that night.

They continue to train, have a few occasions where Rita’s putties spawn all over Angel Grove, but it’s simple.

It’s simple and Trini has never been happier.

So of course, it crashes and burns.

She comes home one day after school and finds at least ten piles of boxes all over the place.

Her heart sinks because she’s seen this before.

Only a whimper escapes her before her mother rounds the corner and sees her, and a smile lights up her face.

“Looks like you’re getting your wish! Your father got promoted! We’re moving to L.A. as soon as possible! Start packing your things, hija.”

Trini turns and bolts out of the door and doesn’t look back.

Her phone rings incessantly throughout the afternoon, but she ignores it. It’s a mixture of missed calls from her parents and from her fellow Rangers, but she doesn’t think she can exactly handle saying goodbye to them just yet.

She has no idea what she’s supposed to do.

So she goes to the one place she can think of.

When she enters the ship, Alpha 5 makes his way over to her and greets her cheerfully and Trini breaks down crying.

She tells Zordon her situation. Zordon explains to her that it’s possible for her to leave.

All she has to do is leave her Power Coin behind, and the Rangers will find someone else to pick up the mantle. 

She just needs to give her blessing.

Trini spends three hours writing them each letters. 

She tells them she’s sorry. She tells them she loves them.

It isn’t enough.

She leaves all five notes with their names on it in the center of the ship and places the Power Coin in the middle of them.

She looks up at Zordon, lets her tears fall, but is surprised when her voice is steady.

“I relinquish my claim as the Yellow Ranger. You have my blessing to find another one worthy of taking over.” 

Zordon nods solemnly, and that’s that.

The effect is almost immediate.

Trini feels weaker, feels useless and pathetic as she turns and makes her way out of the ship, her heart aching and her body shaking. 

She heads to the school the next day, signs the many forms officially denouncing her as a student at Angel Grove High and exits the office as fast as she can.

Again, it isn’t enough.

“Trini!” All four voices sound panicked, and there’s the sound of footsteps pounding, but she holds her hand up and stops them.

She can’t look at them.

“Trini, talk-.”

“I can’t. I can’t look at you. I just...I can’t. Go to the ship. Zordon will explain.”

“But-.” She turns to leave. 

A warm hand grips her own and stops her.

“Trini, stop. Please just talk to us.” 

She’s crying.

Dammit, she’s fucking crying because just the sound of her voice breaks her stupid fucking heart.

She wants to stay here forever, with her hand wrapped in Kimberly’s.

But all too quickly, she’s yanking her hand out of Kimberly’s grasp and shaking her head, still avoiding all of their gazes.

She walks away.

They call her back.

She hears someone step forward, and she just knows who it is.

“Just, stop, Kimberly, please!” She doesn’t intend to shout, but she does, and the entire hallway stares at them in confusion and shock, and Trini still refuses to look back. 

“Don’t make this harder than it already is for me.” She whispers.

“Trini...” Kimberly’s crying, she can hear it in her voice, and Trini runs.

She runs and she doesn’t stop and she doesn’t look back.

When she gets home, they’re all packed and ready to go.

Trini gets into the car, cries into her pillow and doesn’t talk to anyone the entire way there.

For Trini, it starts in the hallway of Angel Grove High, and it ends in the hallway of Angel Grove High.

For Kimberly, it starts in the hallway of Angel Grove High, and it ends in Trini’s empty house in her now empty room, curled up in a ball and crying as she reads the letter Trini left her over and over again.

It isn’t enough.


	2. Oh no I ain't your hero (you're wasting all your faith on me)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Idle Worship" by Paramore.
> 
> i'm gonna try and update this daily, but i can't guarantee it! anyway, enjoy! comments are appreciated!

**Five Years Later**

Trini swings her leg over her motorcycle and groans before stretching, feeling her legs lock up from being in the same position for so long as she lifts her helmet off her head and shakes her hair out of her eyes. She turns her head to the side and sees the old, weathered out sign of a Krispy Kreme blinking in the sunset, the neon sign looking more outdated now than it did five years ago.

A grin instantly lights her face.

Some things never change.

She reaches for her sunglasses in the breast pocket of her leather jacket and rests them on top of her head and finds herself taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.

She hasn’t been here in five years.

So much as changed. The town, not so much, but her...

Jesus, why did she come back here?

She bites her lip and looks down at her phone, remembers the reason why she’s here, and takes a deep breath in.

She’s stepping forward and into the donut café with her heart pounding loudly in her ears and her head spinning as she makes her way up to the counter.

“Welcome to Krispy Kreme, how can I help you?” Trini looks into the eyes of the kid talking to her.

His expression is as monotonous as his tone.

She finds herself smiling. 

It’s the bully. Billy’s bully from Angel Grove that found pleasure in torturing the poor autistic kid.

Trini’s about to open her mouth and fire off the most complicated order she can think of when the sound of his voice snaps her focus completely.

“Well, if it isn’t Trini Rodriguez.” 

Her heart stops beating.

She spins around wildly, and when she sees him, her heart begins pounding again and almost climbs up her esophagus and out of her mouth.

“ZACK!” She’s running before she can stop herself and he laughs and throws his arms open as she barrels into him and he lifts her up off the ground. She buries her head into his shoulder. 

Fuck, he still even smells the same, that stupid cologne he always wears-

“God, I missed you, crazy girl.” He whispers into her ear. Trini lets her tears fall, doesn’t bother to stop them as he sets her down and pulls away, brushing her hair back from her face as tears begin to build in his own eyes.

“How’ve you been?” He whispers. She smiles as he brushes her tears away, and Trini reaches up and touches the slight wrinkles around his eyes, the obvious stress in the bloodshot redness around his eyes...

Something’s so wrong here.

“You got old.” She croaks out instead, and Zack opens his mouth in shock.

“Hey! Not cool.” She laughs and wraps her arms around his waist before burying her head into his chest again. He rubs her back and rests his chin on top of hers and they stay there for a good three minutes before he sighs.

“So you got my message, huh?” He says softly. Trini nods against him before pulling away.

“Yeah, I did. I got here as soon as I could.” He smiles.

“Thanks.” His eyes move down to the helmet in her hand, and he looks outside at her motorcycle, shining yellow in the sunset before raising an eyebrow at her.

“That yours?” He asks, pointing at it. She nods.

“Yeah. Kawasaki Ninja 300, only a 2013 model. I got super lucky, the dude I bought it off was moving to Australia and wanted to get rid of it ASAP, took whatever money I was willing to give. He also happened to have it in Yellow.” Trini says, laughing slightly in disbelief. Zack chuckles. 

“Well, once a Yellow Ranger, always a Yellow Ranger. Didn’t know you were into motorcycles, crazy girl.” He says, poking her in the cheek gently. She slaps his hand away and he laughs, looking at her for a few moments, eyes searching for something before he chuckles under his breath and raises an eyebrow.

“Sometimes I wish I was a girl.”

“What, why?”

“So you’d be attracted to me.” He teases. Trini rolls her eyes and slaps him on the arm and he laughs loudly before nodding his head to one of the tables.

“Come on. I think it’s about time I told you why I asked you to come back so urgently.” 

“Yeah, you didn’t exactly elaborate in the voicemail.” Trini says, frowning as she sits down, resting her helmet on her knee. She would know. She’s listened to it about twenty times since she got it. Zack sits opposite her with a grin.

“Still got you to come back, didn’t I?” She blushes deeply and averts her gaze as a young waitress makes her way over to them.

“Hey, welcome to Krispy Kreme, can I take your order?” Zack orders them coffee, and Trini simply stares at him.

He’s different.

He looks like he’s aged forty years in the last five years. Not physically, but mentally. 

Trini remembers receiving that message from him three days ago.

She had deleted her Facebook and changed her number as soon as she had left Angel Grove, but somehow, after all these years, he managed to get ahold of her new number and as usual, Trini hadn’t answered the call, because she didn’t know the number and Trini never answered calls from numbers she didn’t know. But as soon as a voicemail had been left behind, she spent the next ten minutes replaying it before Trini was out of the door and on her bike, making her way from Los Angeles to Angel Grove.

_“Trini, I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from, but it’s Zack. Zack Taylor. Look, I need your help. Desperately. Please come back home._

_I need you.”_

“You never did tell me how you got my number?” Trini says, raising an eyebrow at him. He grins widely.

“Billy.” He says simply. Trini feels her heart expand to the size of a balloon as she chuckles under her breath and wipes away her tears.

“Of course.” She mutters under her breath. 

“You didn’t answer my question. How’ve you been?” Trini shakes her head.

“I’m fine. I wanna hear about you. Are you okay? Are the others? What happened after I left? How’s your mom? Is she okay, do you need help with her, is that why you called me?” Zack’s smile fades and he runs a hand through his hair.

“Actually, mom died about a year after you left.” He says roughly. Trini bites down on her lip, but it doesn’t stop her heart from aching and the tears from falling.

“Ah, damn...” She lowers her gaze down to the table, tries to stop her body from shaking as she cries, and Zack sniffs loudly before gripping her hand.

“It’s been a long time. I’m okay, Trin. It’s not about mom. It’s about the others. That’s what I need to talk to you about. That’s what I need your help with.” Trini’s heart sinks and she looks up at him in shock.

“What happened?” Zack lets out a shaky breath and his grip on her hand grows tighter.

“You know, Billy and I...we’ve been trying to find you for a long time. A really long time. We...we were okay, you know. When you left, there was this hole in the team, but we managed to get by. We took it hard, but we picked ourselves up. Kimberly was...inconsolable. For a really long time. But then she started smiling again about two years or so after you were gone and I thought to myself that we’d make it. We’d be okay.” Zack’s crying now, and Trini wants to curl up into a ball and hide in her shame.

What did she do?

How could she let this happen?

“Uh, these creatures attacked us, they were after the Zeo Crystal and, uh...well, it was our first big battle since Rita, and we were down one Ranger, so we were all kinda thrown off course and then...then Jason got hurt. He got hurt really badly, Trin.”

“Zack...” She’s afraid to touch him, because his eyes are wide and he’s not looking at her, but looking beside her, as if the memories are playing out before him and he can’t make them stop.

“One second he was leading the charge and the next...there was blood everywhere, and he was shaking and turning whiter and whiter by the second, and as soon as the battle was done we rushed him to Zordon, but we couldn’t do anything...we couldn’t do anything t-to save his leg.” 

Trini’s biting down so hard on her lip, the metallic taste of blood hits her tongue almost immediately.

“He’s still got it, but...he can’t walk on it. Can’t do anything, the pain is too much and he’s just...as soon as he recovered, he tried, he tried so hard, but...the team fell apart. Billy and I, we tried to get him focused, but Kimberly was losing hope as well. She kept saying that the moment you left, we weren’t a team anymore. It wasn’t long before we couldn’t morph anymore, and Zordon lost all hope of us ever getting back. The Power Coins disappeared from us one day, just out of our pockets before we could blink, and since then...since then we haven’t been able to get back into the ship. Our powers are gone, everything...everything’s gone.” Zack finishes his story, and he looks up at Trini and shakes his head.

“That was over a year ago, Trin. Nothing’s happened, thank god, but...it’s only a matter of time. And this town needs us, it needs us to stop it from being destroyed, the Universe needs us to stop the Zeo Crystal from being taken but...fuck, everything’s fallen apart since you left.”

Trini is silent as the waitress returns with their coffees, and Trini’s running her fingers along the rim of her cup, avoiding eye contact before Zack sighs and reaches out, fingers gripping her hand to stop her from touching her cup.

“Trini, it’s bad. Billy’s withdrawing more and more every day, he’s got depression because his best friends left him without so much as a goodbye, because his mother keeps begging him to leave Angel Grove, to go to college but he can’t go because you know how much he loves being a Ranger and that’s been taken from him, because his friends are sick, because he’s sick, he’s...he’s not good. Jason...god only knows what he’s on, but he won’t talk to any of us. He’s slumming it in some crap apartment with barely any food or water, high as a kite on morphine or dilaudid or whatever pain medicine he can get his hands on-.”

“Stop.” Trini whispers, wincing, but Zack bares his teeth and slams his hand down on the table loudly.

“No! You need to hear this! You need to hear this because Kimberly’s got it worse than all of us!” He hisses under his breath. Trini’s head snaps up to look at him and his eyes are wild, tears falling down them and for the first time, Trini notices the stubble around his face as he rubs it and sniffs loudly.

“Kimberly’s got some guy, some boyfriend now, and ever since they started dating, she won’t talk us. Every time we show up to her apartment, she begs us to leave, won’t answer the door, won’t let us in. And sometimes we can hear him yelling at her to get rid of us, and...I don’t know what he’s doing to her but it isn’t good. I know what’s happening to Jason, and I know what’s happening to Billy, but...but not knowing what’s going on with Kimberly, it’s killing me, Trin. It’s killing Billy, too. I’m...I’m trying so hard, I’m trying so hard, but I can’t keep doing this...” He whispers, his eyes closing tiredly as tears fall down his cheeks.

“You’re the glue keeping everyone together, huh?” Trini croaks out, wiping away her own tears from her cheeks. Zack scoffs and looks at her with a sad smile.

“Glue can only hold something together for so long before it starts to crack.” He whispers. 

She’s silent for a long time.

She doesn’t see how this can possibly work.

“Zack, what makes you think I can help them?” She says softly. He laughs without humor and lets out a deep breath.

“I have no idea. Maybe seeing you will trigger something in them, bring us back together.” But Trini shakes her head.

“I left them. I left you. I left...I left everyone. I don’t...I don’t deserve the chance to help.”

“Trini, your parents forced you to go, we know that-.”

“But I still left. I could’ve put my foot down and refused, but I didn’t, I just...I left. And I didn’t even bother to call any of you or tell you where I was or ask how you were. I abandoned you. I abandoned all of you. I can’t help.” 

Zack’s staring at her, and it’s like she can hear his heart breaking. But she knows there’s nothing she can say or do to fix this. She’ll only make it worse...

“I can’t help you, and god I wish I could, but I can’t. Because I ruined you in the first place.” She’s standing, gripping her helmet tightly before she begins making her way out of the door.

“Thanks for the coffee.” She mutters. 

A hand snakes out and grabs her forearm, and she freezes with her back turned to him.

“Trini...please. You know I don’t beg but right now, I am begging you. If you ever cared about us, about any of us...please help us.” 

And god does she want nothing more than to fall to her knees and brush her fingers through Zack’s hair and tell him that everything will be okay. God, does she want nothing more than to find Jason, to save him, to find Kimberly, to save her...

To save her...

“I’m sorry.” She’s yanking her hand out of his grip and walking to the door before he can call her back. 

**********************

Trini lays in the bed of her Hotel room for an incredibly long time after meeting with Zack.

The sun sets completely and darkness has fallen, but still she doesn’t get up.

She’s mulling his words over in her head over and over again.

_“High as a kite on morphine or dilaudid or whatever pain medicine he can get his hands on...”_

_“You need to hear this because Kimberly’s got it worse than all of us!"_

__

__

_“Not knowing what’s going on with Kimberly, it’s killing me, Trin.”_

“Shit...fuck, shit.” She presses the palm of her hands into her eyes and pushes until she’s seeing stars, until the pressure becomes too much and she pulls away, wiping her wet palms on her jeans.

She wasn’t prepared for this. She had no idea what Zack’s voicemail was about but she never, ever suspected this.

How the hell is she supposed to handle all of this?

Her best friends are broken. Damaged beyond repair and it all began because of her.

Why did she leave? Why didn’t she fight to stay? Why couldn’t she have grown balls and stood up to her family before they moved to L.A. instead of after?

As soon as Trini had turned eighteen and had saved enough money to make it on her own (something she’d been doing since she was twelve years old), she had left, telling her mother and father that it was time for her to go on her own.

Of course they protested. They screamed and yelled and told her to find a nice boy and settle down and have children.

That was the Christian way.

Trini doesn’t remember what happened clearly, only that she had yelled at them that maybe she didn’t want to be Christian anymore and that maybe God didn’t even exist, before running to the door, shouting over her shoulder “by the way, I’m into girls”, and leaving without a second glance.

She’s been on her own ever since, working four jobs and only spending money on bills, food and, when she eventually saved enough money to get her motorcycle, gas. She’s managed to get herself a small fortune through hard work and perseverance all on her own, and she hasn’t heard from her family in four years. 

She’d rather keep it that way.

But now her other family is in danger, and Trini can’t do this again. She can’t lose another family, not when losing the first one left her crippled in a hotel room for days afterwards, crying to the point of dehydration.

She has to do something.

She sniffs loudly and nods to herself before grabbing her phone.

Her finger lingers over Zack’s number, and before she can stop herself, she’s pressing the green button to call him.

She raises the phone to her ear, and he answers after a few rings.

“Hello?” His voice is slurred, and Trini frowns before she sits up slowly.

“Zack? It’s Trini.”

“Oh, great. What, are you about to tell me you’re on your way out of town?” He mumbles out. Trini’s eyes widen as she comes to a realization.

He’s drunk.

“You’re drunk.” She says slowly. He snorts with laughter.

“Yeah, no shit. My last hope of getting my friends back together bailed on me. Look, have fun with your life, or whatever, and uh, go fuck yourself, okay?”

“Zack, wait! Where are you?”

“Like you give a shit.” He ends the call before she can say anything and Trini stares at it for a long time before she’s grabbing her jacket and running out of the door.

She has no idea where she’s driving to, just knows that she needs to, and in no time, she finds herself at the Melody Mobile Home Park. 

She has no idea how she remembers to get here, because back then she didn’t have a license, but somehow, subconsciously, she remembers.

She finds Zack’s trailer in the exact same spot it was five years ago.

Except it looks a little worse for wear under the lights of her motorcycle and Zack’s sitting outside it in a camping chair, staring into a fire as he drinks from a bottle of vodka.

And Billy’s with him.

Trini’s not prepared for the punch in the gut she receives when she sees Billy sitting beside Zack and staring into the fire as well, and as she gets closer and closer, the hopeless look in his eyes becomes clearer and clearer.

Fuck, how did she fuck up this badly?

She stops the bike right next to his trailer before turning off the ignition but leaving the lights on, and Billy looks up at the sound of her bike with a frown. Zack turns before he scoffs and drinks from his vodka bottle again.

“Go away, Trini!” She hears him yell as she takes off her helmet. Billy’s head snaps to Zack as his eyes widen in shock, and then he’s standing from his seat.

Trini takes a deep breath in, sets her helmet on the handle of her bike and makes her way to them.

Billy’s staring at her in complete shock, and the closer Trini gets, the more she sees how much he’s aged as well.

Has it only been five years? It feels like a hundred.

“I...I thought...I don’t...” Billy stammers, and Trini doesn’t say a word.

She walks around the fire and wraps her arms around him.

He doesn’t respond at first, and Trini thinks she might’ve overstepped a boundary because she remembers, with a sudden jolt, that Billy doesn’t like being touched, but then he’s wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly as he buries his head into her shoulder.

“You’re really here?” He whispers in disbelief. Trini rubs his back and nods against him.

“Yeah.” 

“Don’t get too excited, Billy. I told you, she doesn’t want to help.” Zack slurs. Trini detaches herself from Billy and turns to look at him, and he smiles wryly at her.

“What? Did you come to say goodbye in person? Make my pain a little worse?” 

“Zack, stop drinking.” She reaches for the vodka bottle, and he moves it away from her.

“Make me.” He teases. Trini glares at him.

“Stop acting like a five year old-.” He glares up at her and before Trini can react, he’s standing, stumbling as he does, and the vodka bottle tumbles to the ground, as he points at her with his index finger.

“Fuck you! I’ve had to be the backbone of this entire fucking team because you were too selfish to say goodbye properly! Because after all we did together, after we saved the fucking Universe together, after we shed blood, sweat and tears together, all you left us was these bullshit fucking letters!” He screams, and Trini balks when she sees that in his hand is the letter she left him five years ago as he shoves it into her face.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do! I suffered, and I watched this team go to shit because of you! Because Jason didn’t know how to lead without you, because Kimberly didn’t know how to live without you, because we were all fucking broken and you were off having the time of your life in L.A. with all the celebrities and glitz and glamour-.”

“Zack-.”

“Shut the fuck up, Trini! Just shut the fuck up! Go back home, forget I ever called! Forget you were ever a Ranger, forget you ever knew us, forget you ever loved us, and you know what? I’ll do the same!”

And before Trini can say anything, he throws her letter into the fire, and it curls and blackens before her eyes, and he’s bending down and picking up his vodka bottle to take a swig from it, only to find it’s all on the floor now.

He growls and throws the bottle into the fire, and it rises, roaring into the sky before it falls again and he glares at her with hot tears falling down his face.

“You owe me a bottle of vodka.” He mumbles, and then he’s stumbling over his camping chair and making his way into the trailer, slamming the door shut behind him. 

It’s silent for a long time, Trini watching the last embers of her letter disappear into the fire as Billy sits back down in his chair beside her.

“His drinking’s getting worse.” Billy says simply after long minutes of silence. Trini wipes away the tears from her cheeks and nods.

“So Zack’s got a thing I have to save him from, too, huh? Alcoholism. Awesome.” 

“Trini, he never asked you to save us. He just asked you to help.”

“I don’t know how to help, Billy! I’m one fucking person!” She’s yelling, and god, she doesn’t mean to because she knows Billy hates confrontation.

But clearly, something in Billy has changed in the last five years. Because he doesn’t yell, or clutch his ears and beg her to stop.

He stands and crosses his arms over his chest, and he simply stares at her.

“One person who made a really big difference. We all loved you, Trini. We still do. I think you forget that.” His voice is shaking, and Trini realizes he must be using a lot of willpower not to freak out right now.

God, what has she become?

“I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell...”

“I’m getting used to the sound of loud voices. But you have no idea what hell we went through when you left. Kimberly didn’t talk to us for two whole years. Jason had no idea what to do. We stopped training for months. Zack and I tried our best to keep the team going, but even he was having trouble keeping motivated. We didn’t realize how important each of us was to the team until-.”

“One of us was gone.” Trini finishes. Billy nods, and Trini runs a hand through her hair.

“I don’t know how to help, Billy. Zack tells me Jason is addicted to pain medication because of his leg, and Kimberly...he doesn’t even know what’s going on with her...how am I supposed to help?” She whispers. Billy grips her shoulders and smiles at her sadly.

“I don’t know. All I know is that you’ve gotta try. We’re dying here, Trini. We need you.” 

And it’s the sound of Billy’s voice cracking and the sight of his tears falling down his face that has Trini growling under her breath and shaking her head.

Her best friends are in trouble.

Her family is in trouble.

Jason is sick. Billy is sick. Zack is sick. Kimberly...

Kimberly...

“What the fuck am I doing?”

And just like that, she’s turning on her heel and marching into the trailer.

She throws the door open and walks into Zack’s room to find him passed out on his bed. She grabs him, and he grumbles as she lifts him with ease and drags him out into the hallway and into the bathroom inside the trailer.

“What are you doing?” He whines, and before he can say anything, she shoves him down into the bathtub and turns the shower tap above it on.

Water rains down on Zack and he splutters, wiping his face and looking up at her in shock as she grabs him by the shirt and pulls him in close, not even caring that some of the water is hitting her now.

“You called me here to help, so you don’t get to yell at me like I’m the cause for all your pain! You want my help, you clean up your fucking act! No more drinking, no more bullshit! You want this team back together so badly, work for it! If I see one more drop of alcohol hit your tongue the entire time I’m here, I’m gonna kick your ass so badly, you’ll be feeling it for the next four lifetimes, do you understand me?” 

He’s still frozen in shock as water soaks him, and Trini shakes him.

“Me entiendes?” She shouts again. He nods.

“Y-Yes, ma’am.” 

“Good. Now get some rest, and I don’t give a single fuck if you wake up tomorrow with a hangover strong enough to kill an elephant. You drink as much coffee and eat as much greasy food as you can to get rid of it. You want my help, I need you sober and focused. I’ll meet you here at eight tomorrow morning and I swear to god if you’re not awake-.”

“Ass kicking. Four lifetimes. Got it.” He says, reaching up and turning the tap off, but grinning widely as he does. 

Trini steps out of the bathroom to find Billy watching her with a smile.

“I think it’s safe to say that Trini’s back?” He says questioningly. Trini crosses her arms over her chest.

“You’re damn right she is. You better get some rest, too. We’ve got work to do.” 

She marches out of the trailer to her motorcycle, unaware that inside the trailer, Billy walks into the bathroom and looks at Zack, soaked in water and looking up at him through his crazy mop of hair with a grin.

“Told you she’d come around.” Billy rolls his eyes.

“Man, no you did not. Now get your ass to sleep. Like she said, we’ve got work to do.”


	3. is it enough to keep on hoping (when the rest have given up)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Told You So" by Paramore. You know the drill! :D

Trini gets to Zack’s trailer by 7:59 the next morning to find Billy and Zack sitting outside once more, but instead of a bottle of vodka, there’s a cup in Zack’s hands.

She jumps off her motorcycle, sets her helmet on the handle and makes her way over to them, and Zack smiles up at her.

“Morning, sunshine. It’s coffee, don’t worry.” He says, lifting the cup to his lips as soon as he sees the look in her eyes. Trini swings her bag off her shoulders and reaches into it, pulling out four roast beef sandwiches and throwing two at Zack. He catches them and looks up at her, and Trini can see his eyes are bloodshot to hell.

“You look like shit.” She says, throwing the other two sandwiches at Billy.

“I feel like shit. But not shit enough to endure four lifetimes worth of an ass whooping. So, I’m ready. Who are we going to first? Jason or Kimberly?”

“Neither.”

“What?” Zack looks up at her in shock and she crosses her arms over her chest.

“First thing’s first. You two.” Billy raises an eyebrow at her mid bite into his sandwich.

“Us two?”

“Yeah. Jason and Kimberly are gonna be hard work, so all three of us need to have our head in the game. And you two do not have your head in the game. You’re an alcoholic-.” She points at Zack, who grumbles, before pointing at Billy.

“And you’re...well, not coping. So, we talk. We spend today or however long it takes talking with each other and hashing out what we can. Then we deal with Jason and Kimberly. One step at a time.” 

Billy and Zack exchange looks.

“Okay.” Billy says. 

Trini grabs a camping chair and sets herself up next to Zack, swinging her keys in her hand before shoving them into her pocket. She watches Billy and Zack enjoy their sandwiches for a while, and a wave of nostalgia hits her when Zack shoves half the sandwich into his mouth and grins, and Billy shakes his head and calls him gross.

It’s like they’re still in High School...

“I left.” Trini blurts out. The boys both turn to look at her, and she sighs and leans in on her seat.

“I left when I shouldn’t have and you have no idea how much I’ve regretted it every day since then. Even when I left my family and started living life on my own, I wanted to come back. But something kept telling me that I had no right. That because I left, with no explanation, no goodbye, I didn’t deserve to know you guys anymore.” 

Zack looks at Billy, who is watching Trini anxiously as she sighs and shakes her head.

“I’m sorry. I really am. If I could change the past I would but I can’t, so...” 

“You can fix it now. Help us help Jason and Kimberly.” Billy says.

“I know...I can’t guarantee they’ll want my help though. Maybe seeing me will even make then angrier.” Trini mumbles. Zack shrugs.

“Maybe, but...we’ve got your back. As long as you’ve got ours.” Trini smiles.

“I’m not leaving unless you tell me to.”

“Good.” Silence falls again, but after Billy finishes his second sandwich, he leans back and sighs in content before nodding.

“I’m...I’m struggling. I won’t lie to you, the last few years without you have been hell. When Jason got injured and he pushed me and Zack away, I felt like...like I was useless. Like, I don’t know, I wasn’t worthy of being a Ranger, or being his friend, or being anything. And my mom, you know, she’s trying to get me out of Angel Grove, keeps telling me I’m so much more than this town but...I’m a Ranger. I’m a Ranger and I can’t-I can’t leave it all like this. I can’t leave knowing Jason ain’t alright. Knowing that he’s suffering. I gotta help him. But he won’t let me. When I managed to track down your number...it’s the first time I’ve felt hope in a long time, Trini.” Trini runs a hand through her hair, her teeth tugging on her bottom lip.

“Jason’s always been the closest with you, I don’t know how I can help, Billy. I’ll try like hell, but...” Billy shakes his head.

“I know. But maybe seeing you, seeing how much we care about him, maybe it’ll wake him up.” 

“I hope so.” Zack finishes his second sandwich and throws the wrapping into the embers of the fire from last night before looking at Trini sadly.

“Look, I know what happened yesterday was bad, but Trini, I’m willing to give up alcohol for this. You have no idea how hard these last few years have been, I’m willing to put everything I have on the line for your help.”

“You won’t be saying that when you go another twenty four hours without alcohol, Zack.” He winces, but shakes his head.

“Maybe not, but you’ll keep me on the straight and narrow. You both will. Kimberly and Jason are too important for us to ruin this chance. I know that. We both do.” 

“What Zack’s trying to say is, we’re in this for the long run because the main cause of our pain is knowing that Jason and Kimberly are suffering. If we help them, we help ourselves. So we’re willing to do this, for however long it takes. And we won’t slip up and we won’t give up.”

“I can’t guarantee the same.” Trini whispers.

“Then, we’ll keep you on the straight and narrow. Trini, we’re the Power Rangers. This can’t be how our story ends.” Billy says sadly. Trini feels tears prick her eyes and she swallows the lump in her throat before nodding.

“Alright. Then let’s get going. Where’s Jason’s place?” 

*******************************

Trini follows Billy’s car (that Zack apparently drives all the time because Billy is still apprehensive of driving) to a set of apartments that look like they belong in an apocalyptic setting in a movie close to the one shopping center in Angel Grove and she feels a shiver run up her spine as she comes to a stop behind Billy’s car.

The building gives her strange vibes, and there’s barely anyone around.

Billy and Zack exit the car just as she finishes taking her helmet off, and she jumps off the bike and shoves her helmet into her bag before shouldering it again.

“This place seems-.”

“Horrible? Yeah.” Billy says, looking up grimly at the building in front of them.

“Prepare yourself, Trini.” Zack says softly. Trini squares her shoulders and nods.

“Alright. Let’s do this.” 

Zack takes the lead, moving forward toward the front door of the building, which has a broken glass panel and is already open, and Trini finds herself gripping the elbow of Billy’s shirt as they make their way up past the letterboxes towards the stairs.

They climb two flights before Zack turns to the right and comes to a stop in front of a door with the number eight on it.

He looks back at Trini, who can feel her heart pounding against her chest erratically as she nods.

Zack lets out a deep breath, and Trini feels Billy suddenly reach out and grip her hand tightly, and she squeezes his hand back as Zack knocks on the door. 

“Jason? It’s Zack and Billy, man. Someone else is here to see you. Someone you haven’t seen in a long time. She really wants to see you.” 

There’s silence on the other side of the door. 

Zack sighs and looks back at Billy.

“You know he’s here man, he never leaves.” Billy says softly. Zack sighs and knocks on the door again.

“Jason? Come on, dude-.”

“Jason?” Trini walks forward until she’s right next to the door, and she swallows back her tears when she hears the sound of shuffling behind the door.

“Jason, it’s me, Trini. Can you open the door, please?” There’s more shuffling, and then there’s the sound of a lock.

Trini steps back as there’s the sound of a chain rattling and then the door opens a crack.

“Jason?” Trini whispers. She reaches out, and then a hand grips the frame of the door and pulls it back slowly.

Trini feels bile rise in the back of her throat the second she sees him.

He’s hunched over, his arms crossed over his bare chest as he shivers, his body frail and stark white and not at all the muscular form she remembers. His sweatpants barely fit him, almost falling off with no body mass to cling to, and there’s bruises covering his alabaster skin, some purple and brand new, some yellow and fading.

But that’s not the worst of it.

His hair is almost up to his shoulders, held back with a hair tie, loose strands framing his face, and it looks like he hasn’t washed his hair or any part of him, really, in a while, a faint smell coming off him that has Trini almost gagging. 

His face...cheeks hollow, dark circles covering his eyes...his eyes that were once bright blue and so full of life and now...

“Jason...” She chokes on his name, and he looks up at her distantly, blankly, as if he’s trying to place her, but he can’t.

Then he’s smiling, but it looks more like a grimace as he shivers and nods once.

“Trini...it’s good to see you.” His voice sounds so small, with no hint at all of the booming confidence of the Red Ranger she once remembers. He steps forward, and Trini sees how he limps on his left leg, sees how he winces and grips the door frame, veins sticking out in his arms, and that’s when Trini notices the track marks on his arms.

She closes her eyes and lets her tears fall, and when she opens them, he’s shuffling back into the apartment, his eyes on the ground.

“You should go.” He mutters.

“Wait, no, Jason! Please, I...I came to see you.” Trini throws a hand out to stop him from closing the door. Jason looks at her before his eyes move to Billy and Zack, and he smiles weakly again.

“Did they call you...call you here to try and help me, Trini?” He says, looking at her. 

“Does it matter? I’m here to help you, Jason-.”

“I don’t need help. I’m sorry you wasted your time. Go home, okay? Go live your life, don’t worry about me.” He goes to shut the door again, but Trini stops him again.

“I do worry. Jason, please, just let me in-.”

“Bye, Trini.” He pushes the door more forcefully now, and Trini goes to fight it, but Zack reaches out and touches her shoulder. When she turns to look at him, he shakes his head sadly.

“That’s all you’re gonna get out of him for now, trust me.” He whispers, and Trini jumps a little as the door shuts behind her, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in.

“He’s...”

“A lot worse than you expected.” Billy finishes her sentence for her, and Trini bites her lip and nods. 

“Feel like giving up yet?” Zack whispers. Trini looks at him, then turns back to the door and leans into it.

“Jason, I know you can hear me. You don’t have to let me in, but...I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. We’re not giving up on you. I’m not giving up on you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She touches the door, and she swears, swears on her life, that she can hear a faint whimper through the door before she moves away.

“Come on, Kimberly isn’t far from here-.”

“Wait. Not yet. I need...” Trini trails off and shakes her head, and Billy sighs.

“Come on. Let’s go get lunch somewhere first. Kimberly’s gonna be hard for you, I know. Let’s shake this off first.” He whispers. Trini nods, and Zack sighs.

“God, I need a drink.” She glares at him, and he smiles sadly.

“I’ll keep my promise. Just as long as you keep yours.” 

*****************************

After a quiet and somber lunch at a nearby fast food place, Zack tells her that Kimberly’s place isn’t too far from where they are now, and Trini can feel her entire body vibrating with a frequency she’s never felt before.

“It’s another apartment block not too far from here. A little better than where Jason’s at, but...it’s not good. She’s not good-.”

“What...what do you think he’s doing to her? This guy?” Trini asks. Zack looks at Billy, who lowers his gaze, and Trini clenches her jaw.

“You think he’s hurting her?” She manages to get out. Zack sighs.

“She answered the door once with a black eye.” Trini feels her hand squeeze around her cup so hard that it shattered in her hand, the last dregs of her coffee splattering onto the table as Zack and Billy jump.

“Shit, Trini, your hand!” Billy’s grabbing a napkin and wrapping it around her hand, but Trini can’t hear or feel him, can’t feel anything but pure anger boiling through her. 

“He’s hitting her-.”

“I don’t know, Trini. I told you, she doesn’t let us see her for longer than a minute, if even that. The second he tells her to shut the door, she disappears. I’ve tried barging my way in, but he almost kicked my ass. The guy isn’t exactly tiny, I mean, he’s no Dwayne Johnson, but he’s no Michael Cera, either. Billy’s tried kicking the door down, but...we don’t have our powers anymore, and the guy’s got about fifty deadbolt locks on that door, Kimberly always spends at least thirty seconds unlocking it every time we go to see her.” 

“Shit...” 

“Maybe if she sees you she’ll finally realize she doesn’t need to stay with him-.”

“I don’t understand how this happened. Jason, I understand, I mean he’s in pain and he’s sick, but Kimberly...she was so strong, so independent and now you’re telling me she might be stuck in an abusive relationship? Fuck, how did this happen?” Trini buries her head in hands to stop her tears from falling, but she can’t stop them.

Her heart feels like it’s just been torn to pieces and thrown under a bus. When neither of them answer, she looks up to see them looking at each other hesitantly.

“What?” She asks. Zack sighs as Billy grips her injured hand tightly.

“Please, please, don’t take this as us blaming you because it’s the last thing we’re doing, but...Kimberly changed a lot when you left.”

“She became...I don’t even know how to explain it...empty, I guess? She didn’t talk to us for two years, and then when she did, we thought she was maybe getting better, but then Jason’s accident happened and suddenly, it was like there was no emotion behind anything she was saying. She just...blanked. Like her personality was completely wiped.”

“I think she was maybe suffering from some kind of PTSD, but before we could ask her or even attempt to help her, she started dating that guy, and then she was gone. Just disappeared one day behind that door and never came out.” 

“What...what about her parents?” Trini whispers.

“They left town before she started dating him, her dad got a promotion or something. I’m guessing she calls them regularly and lies to them, telling them she’s okay, or else they would’ve come looking for her a long time ago. We...were all talking about getting a place together before the accident...” Billy says fondly, his tone dripping with sadness and grief, and Trini curled her hand into a fist, hisses when she touches the open wound on her palm and nods.

“Okay. Let’s go see her. We can’t hold it off any longer.” 

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Zack asks, standing with her.

“Probably not. But I can’t stand back and do nothing.” 

“Alright...let’s go.”

The drive isn’t long, maybe seven or so minutes, and Trini trails behind them on her bike, trying her best to stay focused while also trying not to have a panic attack.

The years hadn’t been easy on her.

Getting over Kimberly Hart had taken a long time. 

Trini’s got plenty of scars, three on her neck and a small one on her forehead from Rita’s attack, a few small ones littered on her back from the training they all used to do back when they were Power Rangers, and a large one on her left hand around her third knuckle from the time she’d punched a brick wall after leaving home. 

But the ones she’s sure she’ll never able to erase are the ones that formed in her mind and her heart when she left Angel Grove and Kimberly Hart behind.

She can’t get rid of the guilt. She’s responsible for Kimberly’s position now, there’s no other way of saying it or denying it.

She fucked up.

They pull up outside another building that looks a little less scarier than Jason’s current residential building, and Trini jumps off her bike as Zack exits the car and walks up to her. 

“You need to promise me you aren’t gonna do anything stupid.”

“Like what?”

“Like go barging in there and beating the shit out of Ty-.”

“Wait, what?” Trini freezes, and Zack’s eyes go wide.

“Shit. I wasn’t supposed to say that-.”

“It’s Ty? Ty as in Kimberly’s old boyfriend from High School? That’s the guy she’s dating?” Trini hisses, and Billy walks up to them and glares at Zack.

“You weren’t supposed to tell her!”

“It slipped out, I’m sorry!”

“Why? Why did you try and keep this from me?” Trini growls, gripping Zack’s forearm tightly, and he winces.

“Ow, because I knew you’d react like this, ow, Trin, let go.” Trini glares at him before she roughly lets him go.

“Why the fuck would she get back together with him?” She glowers, looking up at the building murderously, and Zack shakes his head.

“I don’t know. She just told us that she patched things up with him, and then...look, promise me you won’t do anything-.”

“I promise. Let’s just go.” 

Zack leads the charge again, and Trini tries to swallow down her anger as he doesn’t head to the stairs, but instead makes his way past the stairs to the third room on the first floor.

He hesitates, and Trini doesn’t know what compels her to do it, but she moves past him and knocks on the door herself.

“Trini-.” Zack grabs her hand to stop her, but it’s too late. She’s already knocked, and Trini can feel her heart about to fall out of her stomach.

She can feel her breaths coming out heavier, more panicked, as the sound of chains rattling and locks being opened echoes in the hallway. 

The door opens up a crack, and Trini’s breath catches in her throat.

Kimberly pokes her head out, and her eyes move from Billy, to Zack, and finally, to Trini.

Trini only sees her clearly for about two seconds before her eyes brim with tears and everything goes blurry, and her head spins and she finds herself gripping Zack’s elbow to support herself. 

When the tears fall, Kimberly’s face comes back into focus, and Trini can’t help the sob that escapes her.

Her brown eyes, once so warm and kind and fierce, are now wide and terrified, the dark circles under her eyes prominent even against her olive skin tone. Her hair is longer than Trini can ever remember it, cascading down past her waist to her stomach almost.

The rest of her is hidden behind the door, but Trini’s eyes roam over her neck, can see the purplish bruises on her collarbone, can see the slight tinge of red around her jaw...

“Trini?” Her voice is broken, so broken and lost and Trini finds herself stepping forward at the sound of her name, her hand reaching out and Kimberly opens the door a little further, her hand twitching before moving up to meet her-

“Shut the door you stupid bitch! Tell them to fuck off!” Kimberly jumps wildly, and Trini’s hand meets air as Kimberly draws back and looks at them all fearfully before moving to shut the door.

“No, please-.” Trini reaches out to stop her from closing the door, but Kimberly looks at her in terror.

“Don’t, please! Please, Trini!” She whispers. Trini wants to push back, to break the door down and run in there and kill Ty, to take Kimberly away from all of this, but the thought barely processes through her mind before Kimberly shuts the door and begins locking it again. 

Trini collapses against the door, wanting nothing more than to sink right through it and take Kimberly into her arms, and she’s crying before she can stop herself, biting down on her lip to stop herself from sobbing, but soft whimpers escape her regardless as she falls against the door gently, hands scrabbling at it, desperate to get Kimberly back-

“Come on, Trin. Come on...” Zack moves to lift her back up, and Trini looks up at him.

“W-We can’t leave her.” She chokes out, and Zack is crying as he shakes his head.

“I know, I don’t want to, I never want to, but if we don’t leave, he’s gonna get angry. Come on...” 

Zack half drags, half carries her away, and Trini tries to fight him, but she has nothing left in her.

She’s broken.

************************

She’s not sure how she manages to ride her bike back to Zack’s but she does.

And as soon as she gets there, she walks inside the trailer, collapses onto Zack’s bed and cries. 

She isn’t even sure how long she cries for, but she’s thankful that Zack and Billy don’t walk in, give her space as digs her fists into her ribs and curls up into a ball because the pain is too much. 

What have I done?

Eventually, she drifts off, and she’s not sure if she’s sleeping or if she’s in some kind of traumatic comatose state, because the only thing that breaks her out of it is the chiming of her phone as a message rings through. She grabs it weakly, lighting it up and hisses when her eyes sting from the light.

It’s already midnight.

She’s been crying in Zack’s room for a good eight hours. 

The message is from Zack himself, and Trini sees it before the screen goes dark.

_“Come outside.”_

She takes a deep breath in and tries her best to focus herself.

Zack and Billy need her, now more than ever.

No more crying.

She stands up on shaking legs and slowly makes her way outside, grabbing herself a long drink of water before she does. The water soothes her throat, and she can already feel her body beginning to rejuvenate as she steps outside of the trailer.

Zack and Billy are huddled around the fire again, and Trini can see a bottle in Zack’s hands.

She marches over, and Zack sees her out of the corner of his eye.

“Whoa, calm down! It’s just ginger ale!” He yelps, and Trini looks down at the label on the bottle and feels her body relax. Billy chuckles as Zack lets out a whistle.

“Jeez. Trust me, I wanted to down one after today, but...well, I already got rid of all of it this morning, so...” Trini watches him shift in his seat, sees how he’s sweating despite the chilly air around them.

“How are you holding up?” She asks. He sighs.

“I could use a bottle of vodka right now.” Is all he says. Trini sighs and sits down in the chair next to him, and Zack reaches out, grabbing her hand tightly.

“We told you it was bad.” Billy says softly.

“We need to get her out of there.” Trini whispers. 

“I know, I-.” Billy suddenly stops talking, his eyes widening as they focus on something behind Zack and Trini and they both frown before turning slowly.

Zack, who’s taking a swig from his bottle, spits out ginger ale when his eyes focus on the same thing Billy’s focused on.

“Holy shit.” Zack chokes out, but Trini doesn’t pay attention to him. 

Kimberly Hart is walking toward them slowly, almost cautiously, her eyes moving from Billy to Zack before finally landing on Trini, who stands from her chair slowly. 

Kimberly comes to a stop a few feet away from them, and Trini just stands there and stares, drinking her in.

She’s thin. Very thin. She’s wearing short shorts, and Trini can see the goosebumps on her legs from the cold air around her, can also see the bruises, some yellow, some blue and black on her legs as well. 

Her blood boils, but she contains it in her left hand, squeezing it into a fist and hissing slightly when she reopens the cut on the palm of her hand. 

Kimberly’s hair is hanging around her face lifelessly, limp and dark as steps forward slowly, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.

“I...I won’t be able to stay for long, he-he can wake up any moment.” 

Trini steps forward slowly, and Kimberly looks up at her with wide eyes filled with tears.

“You’re-you’re really here?” She whispers, her body shaking with unshed tears and Trini nods, taking another step forward as she does.

“Yeah. I’m here, Kim.” She whispers back. Kimberly’s bottom lip trembles.

“W-Why?” She gets out. Trini smiles through her tears.

“To see you. To tell you I’m sorry for leaving. To...to help you. Because you need help.” 

“I...” Kimberly doesn’t get out the rest of her sentence. She looks over at Zack.

“D-Did you call her?” She asks. Zack stands up from his chair at the same time as Billy.

“We both did.” Billy answers. 

“You shouldn’t have.” 

“Kimberly-.” Trini steps forward again, but Kimberly steps back.

“I...it’s not fair.” Kimberly whispers. 

"What isn't fair?" Trini whispers back. Kimberly shakes her head.

"Not fair..." She says hoarsely again.

“Kimberly, just come back. Stay with us, stay...stay with me. Please?” Trini begs. Kimberly looks up at her, her eyes wild as she bites down on her lip and shakes her head again.

“I can’t. I-I have to go.” She’s turning to walk away, and Trini’s running forward before she can stop herself.

“Kim, wait!” She grips Kimberly’s forearm, and as soon as she makes contact, a spark of electricity surges throughout her whole body. She ignores it, instead focuses on how Kimberly jumps and looks down at Trini grabbing her arm before looking up at her in shock.

“If h-he doesn’t find me there-.”

“Kim, please, don’t go.” Trini whispers. Kimberly lets out a soft whimper, and Trini reaches out with her other hand, reaching up to touch her cheek-

“I have to go.” She’s yanking her hand out of Trini’s grip and running before Trini can call her back and Trini collapses to her knees, her body tired and broken and her heart even more so. 

She failed.


	4. I can't think of who I was cause it just makes me want to cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Caught In The Middle" by Paramore. comments appreciated!

Three weeks.

Three weeks go by with no progress whatsoever.

Every day, Trini, Zack and Billy go to both Jason and Kimberly’s places, knock on the door, and wait.

Sometimes they answer, sometimes they don’t.

All of the time, they’re pushed away.

Trini can feel Zack and Billy’s frustration growing, because they thought she was going to be their saving grace. 

She doesn’t have the heart to tell them they were wrong.

So instead, she pushes through her tears, pushes through her grief, and uses her anger to fuel her.

She yells at Zack when he tells her he wants a drink. She yells at Billy when he says that maybe they should stop going every single day to Jason and Kimberly’s places, that maybe they’re being overbearing and overwhelming them.

She yells until her voice is hoarse and her throat is sore because it’s all she has left. 

She’s felt hopeless before, but this...this is nothing compared to last time.

Trini has no idea what to do.

All she knows is that she’ll spend forever knocking on their doors if she has to.

She’ll do it until one of them gives in.

And the day finally comes almost four weeks after she arrives back in Angel Grove.

She wakes up early, the sun barely even rising over the horizon when she wakes up in her Hotel room and sits up with a yawn, stretching and groaning as the loud popping sounds of her joints cracking echoes in her room.

She brushes her teeth and prepares herself to head out, shoving on whatever clothes she can find before grabbing her jacket and her helmet.

It’s when she gets to her bike and actually starts making her way to Zack’s trailer that she frowns and takes a left, making her way to Jason’s apartment instead.

Maybe she should try a different approach this time.

She comes to a stop in front of Jason’s apartment, shoves her helmet into her bag and makes her way up the stairs to his door.

When she reaches it, however, the door is slightly open.

Trini freezes, her heart immediately pounding against her chest erratically as she swallows the lump in her throat and steps forward slowly.

“Jason?” She calls out. She hears the sound of a crash inside the apartment and she’s running before she even thinks about it. 

She throws the door open and walks in, stops when the smell hits her and she gags, wrinkling her nose. It’s a mixture of cigarette smoke and a sewer and some other smell that Trini can’t identify, and her eyes are fixed on what’s in front of her.

A living room with thin mattresses covered in stained sheets, boxes of pizza and cans all over the place, cockroaches on the floor, and worst of all, needles...needles all over the place that have Trini watching her every step carefully, fear radiating through her like toxicity-

“Jason!” She shouts, not at all surprised that her voice is shaking with her fear. She hears the sound of something falling before there’s a cry of pain, and she’s running toward the source of it as fast as she can. There’s a hallway before there’s another two hallways on either side at the end of it, and Trini takes a left to see a bathroom-

And Jason’s on the tiled floor, sagging sweatpants on his lower half and his upper half bare as he looks up at her, pale and sickly as tears fall down his face and he grimaces in pain.

“Get out of here! Get out!” He screams.

“Jason-.”

“GET OUT!” Trini bites down on her lip with hesitation, but she knows she’s already made up her mind.

She can’t leave him.

She rushes forward and reaches out, and he’s still screaming at her to leave.

“GO AWAY, GET AWAY-.”

“Jason, stop!” She finally grabs him, gripping his shoulders, and he’s trying to shove her away, but even now, even in this state, Jason refuses to use too much force for fear of hurting her.

And that thought alone, that somewhere deep inside, the Jason she knows, the Jason she remembers, her Jason, is still there, breaks her.

She’s crying, tears falling down her face as she sobs and lifts him up into her arms, and it isn’t long before he stops resisting her and his bottom lip trembles before he chokes on a sob and collapses into her, his head buried into her chest as he grips her tightly as if she’s all that’s keeping him alive.

She brushes his hair back from his face, rocks him back and forth, presses her lips to his hair, and she’s not sure how long they stay there for, but her phone eventually starts ringing and Trini has to guess it’s Zack wondering where she is.

“Jason...I have to answer the phone, it’s probably Zack.” She whispers softly.

“Please, please don’t tell him-.” Jason’s grip on her tightens, and she nods and brushes his hair.

“Shh, I won’t, I promise, I’ll tell him everything’s okay, he doesn’t have to know, I just need you to let go of my arm, okay?” He winces before he nods slowly, his hand lowering and Trini gently sets his hand by his side before grabbing her phone out of her pocket and raising it to her ear, one arm still curled around Jason’s body.

“Hello?”

“Trini? Where are you?” It’s Billy’s voice on the other end, and Trini sees Jason bite down on his hand to stop himself from crying as fresh tears fall down his face. 

It’s his best friend on the other line and he can’t bring himself to say hello.

“Hey, look...something’s come up and I don’t think I can do today. Maybe we should just give them a break from the constant visits, you know? Maybe you were right.” Trini tries to keep her voice from shaking, but she’s failing miserably, and she can almost imagine the frown on Billy’s face as he sighs.

“Well, alright, but...are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, family stuff. I gotta go, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow. Take a day off, you and Zack just focus on recovering.” 

“Okay. See you tomorrow.” Trini hangs up, and Jason looks up at her and shakes his head.

“I don’t deserve any of you. You keep trying to h-help me and I d-don’t deserve it-.”

“Shh. Jason, don’t talk like that. We’re your family and we love you. We’re going to be here for you no matter what.” He shakes his head again, and he grips Trini’s hand in his own and squeezes it tightly.

“I don’t wanna do this anymore, Trini. I just want to end it all.” He whispers. Trini feels her heart drop and a shiver run down her spine.

“Jason...” He’s crying again, and Trini’s crying with him, unable to form any words as she bites her trembling bottom lip and touches his cheek, cupping his jaw in her hand and tilting his head to look at her.

“Please Jason, let me get you out of here. Let me get you back to my Hotel room, let me get you away from all of this-.”

“No, I need it, Trini. I need it, my leg...” As if on cue, his leg begins to shake a little, and he winces in pain and tries to sit up, but Trini shakes her head and lifts all of his weight into her arms again.

“Jason, look at me. You don’t need it. You’re dependent on it but you don’t need it. You’re so much stronger than you think.”

“I’m not-I’m not, I’m weak, I’m not worthy-.”

“Listen to me. You were the Red Ranger, Jason. You led this team to victory after victory and I know deep down inside that Jason is still in there. Look at me!” His eyes snap up to her again, and she grips his face in her hands and grits her teeth, using her passion to fuel her words.

“You were what kept us going. You were what kept us together and made us the strongest damn team on this planet. With you as our leader, we were unstoppable. I understand, Jason, I do. You’re in pain, and it’s killing you that this is what you’ve become. But don’t give up. Please, don’t give up because we need you. Zack needs you, Billy needs you, I need you, and god...god, Kimberly needs us all more than anything.” She whispers her final words, looking up at the ceiling in an attempt to stop her tears, but they fall anyway. When she looks back down at Jason, he’s frowning, his whole body shivering.

“Kimberly?” Trini bites her bottom lip.

“She’s not good, Jase. She’s with Ty and he’s...he’s doing god knows what to her. We’re trying to get her back but he’s got her locked in his jaws, and I can’t...I can’t do this on my own. Zack and Billy are reaching the end of their rope and I’m the only thing keeping them afloat, so I need you. I need you to help me save Kimberly, I need you to help me save you. Because I can’t do this on my own, please...if you ever loved me, or Zack or Billy or Kimberly...fight for us. Fight for you.” She’s pretty sure she’s unintelligible at this point, because she’s sobbing too much to even understand what she’s saying, but Jason is looking at her with wide eyes that suddenly spark with something she hasn’t seen in five years.

Hope.

He shifts beneath her, and then he’s wincing and looking up at her. 

“H-Help me up.” He croaks out. She looks at him in shock for half a second before she’s jumping up and gripping his hand in her own. He cries out in pain, and Trini grits her teeth and pulls him up all on her own, gripping his arm and wrapping it around her neck before pulling all his weight onto herself, taking him off his injured left leg.

“Trini, don’t, I’m heavy-.”

“I can carry you.” She says simply. He looks at her, smiles slightly and nods weakly.

“Let’s go back to your Hotel.” He whispers. Trini looks at him with wide eyes and he nods again, a little more firmly this time.

“My-My team needs me.” He breathes. Trini lets her tears fall, lets the small whimper escape her before she’s gripping onto him tightly and dragging him down the hallway. 

The stairs are the worst part. It takes them ten minutes to get down a flight of ten steps, and Jason is crying out in pain with every step, but Trini doesn’t give up, just grips him tighter.

When she steps outside with Jason against her, he shivers from the cold and looks around.

“Where’s your car?” He whispers.

“Shit.” Trini looks at her bike and hesitates, and Jason chuckles.

“Didn’t-didn’t take you for a motorcycle enthusiast, c-crazy girl.” He teases weakly. Trini can’t help but smile, and she shakes her head.

“You can’t ride on the back, it’ll hurt your leg. I’ll call a cab-.”

“I can do it.” 

“Jason, no, it’ll hurt-.”

“I...I can manage, Trini, please. If I go back in there, I’ll never leave. I need to leave...” He whispers. Trini looks at him and he nods.

“I can do it.” He repeats, a little stronger this time, and Trini grabs her bag from her back and pulls out her helmet before taking off her leather jacket and wrapping it around Jason. She zips it up before putting the helmet on him and leading him over to the bike.

She hops on, and he winces before swinging his own leg over. He grips her around the waist tightly, and Trini starts the bike before turning back to look at him. 

“Just hold on for ten minutes for me, Jase.” She whispers. He rests his head against the middle of her back weakly.

“You’ve got nine.”

******************

When they reach her Hotel room, Trini is pretty much dragging Jason on her own, and he’s breathing heavily, sweat beginning to form on his forehead as Trini leads him into her room and shuts the door behind her.

They both collapse on top of her bed, and Jason winces and shakes his head.

“This isn’t gonna be fun.” He whispers.

“Jason, maybe we shouldn’t do this cold turkey. Maybe we should just lower the amount you have over the next few days-.”

“No! No, I-I have to stop, now. I can do this.” He sniffs, and Trini bites down on her lip.

“Okay. But on one condition: you let me tell Zack and Billy so they can help.” Jason looks at her and sniffs again, and Trini crosses her arms over her chest in a stand off. Finally, after a few minutes, he nods.

“O-Okay.” Trini nods and grabs her phone from her pocket, clicking on Zack’s name and watching as it begins ringing.

“Trin, everything okay?” Zack answers immediately. Trini sighs.

“I need you to bring as much spare clothes and underwear you can bring. I also need blankets, pillows, a lot of warm clothes, some scissors and...probably more stuff that we can get later.”

“Uh, are we having a séance?” Zack jokes.

“No. We’re helping Jason detox from morphine.” 

Zack’s silent for a long time.

“My Hotel room. Get here as soon as you can.” Trini ends the call, and Jason looks up at her.

“Was he shocked?”

“Into silence.” Jason laughs, winces and buries his head into her bed before he looks up at her again.

“How long-how long before it gets bad?” He asks.

“I don’t know. When was the last time you had some?” Jason winces.

“Around midnight, I-I think. I woke up because of the pain and I went into the b-bathroom to get more, but there was none left, and then I got angry, and...” 

“You fell.” Trini finishes. He nods, and Trini pulls out her phone and looks up what she can on detoxing from morphine.

“Do you want me to tell you what the internet says?” She asks. Jason chuckles and nods weakly.

“The internet says it takes about a day or two to start suffering from withdrawal symptoms. It reaches it’s peak at seventy two hours. It can take anywhere from five to seven days for the morphine to leave your system completely, depending on how long the abuse has gone for-.”

“About eight months.” Jason says. 

“How often a day?” She asks.

“I don’t know, maybe three or four times a day...” He croaks out. Trini bites her lip and nods before she goes back to reading.

“Okay...withdrawal symptoms apparently involve flu like symptoms, nausea, chills, cold sweats, vomiting, muscle aches, body twitching, dizziness...”

“So it’s not gonna be fun, essentially.” Jason says, smiling weakly. Trini grips his hand in her own.

“First thing’s first. As soon as Zack and Billy get here, they’re gonna help you shower. We’re gonna cut your hair-.”

“What, why?”

“Because it looks horrible, Jason.” He chuckles breathlessly, and she smiles. 

“You’re with me, right?” He whispers, looking up at her, and the fear is so strong in his eyes, that Trini nods without hesitation.

“Every step of the way.” She whispers back.

“Thank you.” He breathes. She smiles and brushes his hair back from his face.

“Sleep, Jase. They’re not gonna be here for a while, get some rest.” He nods again before his eyes close and Trini lets out a deep breath before moving to the couch beside the bed and resting against it.

A few hours later, she’s pulled out of her dozed state by the sound of banging on the door, and she jumps before looking at the bed to see Jason looking up at her from his curled up position on the bed, his body shivering and his teeth chattering.

She runs over to the door and opens it, and Zack and Billy pile in, both of them carrying two large garbage bags.

“All the clothes we could find. Billy had a lot. Holy shit, Jason...” Zack drops his bags and walks over to the bed, but Trini grabs him.

“Slowly. Don’t freak him out.” Zack nods, and Jason turns on the bed and looks up at him.

“Hey...” Zack says softly. Billy’s still frozen in the doorway, and Trini prods him gently.

“You both gotta help him shower.” She says softly. Jason looks at her, then Zack and Billy, and he nods.

“I...I need your help.” He whispers. Billy’s bottom lip trembles and he nods before stepping forward.

“You got it man.” He whispers back. Zack and Billy both help him off the bed, both of them carrying him into the bathroom, and Trini waits outside, listening in at the door as they turn the shower on.

She can hear Jason’s small whimpers of pain through the door, and she looks up at the clock on the bedside table to see it’s almost four in the afternoon. 

He’s hit fourteen hours without morphine.

She rubs her eyes tiredly and steps back when the door opens. 

Billy and Zack carry Jason out, and he’s dressed in black sweatpants and a bright blue jumper. 

“Where’s the Yellow?” She teases, and Zack winks at her, and Trini grins back before she suddenly freezes.

“Oh, shit. Take him back to the bathroom, did you bring scissors?” She asks Zack. 

“All I had were clippers.” 

“Crap-.”

“It’s o-okay. Shave it off.” Jason croaks out.

“Are you sure?” Trini asks, frowning. He groans.

“Yes, just put me down, please.”

“Shit, sorry, Jase!”

“Okay, I think we’re overwhelming him, I think Zack and I should go.” Billy says suddenly. Trini looks at him, and she can see he’s starting to panic, the situation starting to overwhelm him, and she nods frantically.

“That might be a good idea, I’ve got it from here. Zack. Get Billy home.” Zack opens his mouth to protest, but she looks at him pointedly and he sighs.

“Alright. Let’s take him back to the bathroom and then we’ll go.” 

“Thank you.” Trini grabs the clippers from the bag as they take Jason to the bathroom, and then Billy rushes over to the door and stops in front of her.

“I’m sorry-.”

“Don’t be. It’s a lot. I’ve got it from here, Billy. Go home, get some rest.” She smiles, and Zack makes his way out and claps Billy on the shoulder.

“Come on, man.” They leave, and Trini squares her shoulders and makes her way into the bathroom.

Jason looks up at her sadly.

“I scared them.” He whispers.

“You don’t scare me. We’re seeing this through, Jase.” He lets out a deep breath and nods once, and Trini shoves in the clippers into the power and turns it on. It buzzes, and Jason jumps.

“Ready?” He smiles.

“Yeah.”

**********************

It’s torture.

The first forty eight hours are the worst.

As soon as the twenty four hour mark hits, he’s sweating and groaning, twisting and turning on the bed as Trini holds him close and tries to comfort him. He vomits four times in an hour, his body trembling beneath hers as she holds the bucket to his face and rubs his back as he coughs and splutters.

He doesn’t eat, only drinks lemonade to soothe his stomach. She finally manages to get a few saltine crackers into him once hour thirty six hits, but he ends up vomiting them up anyway.

Billy and Zack don’t return because Trini tells them not to. If they couldn’t handle him with minor symptoms, she knows they can’t handle this.

She’s not sure she can either.

But the sight of Jason, completely and utterly defeated, begging her for pain relief, begging her to kill him...

All it does is make her fight harder.

She holds him close and whispers encouragements into his ear, and when they reach hour sixty one, he swears at her and calls her a bitch and tells her to shove her encouragements up her ass.

And she knows it’s not him talking, so she ignores the stabbing pain it causes in her heart and instead continues holding him.

When hour seventy eight hits, he’s hitting himself, screaming into her pillow, and Trini is crying because she doesn’t know what to do, so she sinks against the door in the bathroom and sobs as he thrashes around on her bed. 

When hour eighty four hits, Trini realizes he’s beginning to calm down a bit. He’s not asking her to kill him as much, and his fever has gone down dramatically.

By hour ninety eight, he’s no longer sweating as much, his body shivering a little less now.

By hour a hundred and nineteen, he stops begging her for pain relief. He takes another shower, the first since Billy and Zack came over and completely on his own, but the pain in his leg gets worse, and he looks ravenous for pain relief, but he doesn’t need her encouragements. He grits his teeth and pushes through it.

By hour a hundred and thirty nine, his final fever breaks completely. There’s more color to his cheeks...

By hour a hundred and sixty, he’s Jason Scott again.

He’s running his hands through his now buzz cut hair, and he sniffs and looks up at Trini, who looks back at him, exhaustion and fatigue and emotion running through her as he holds his hand out for her to take.

“How are you feeling?” She whispers, her voice hoarse beyond belief and Jason shakes his head and pulls her down until she’s lying on top of him. He wraps his arms around her and presses a kiss to her forehead.

“Like shit, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve never felt happier to feel like shit.” She chuckles and buries her head in his chest, and he lets out a choked sob.

“Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you...” He whispers.

“Shh...” She grips his hand, and Jason sighs and holds her tighter.

“Sleep, Trini. God knows you deserve it.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, though?” She whispers. 

“I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep with the girl who saved my life in my arms.” He mutters. Trini laughs weakly and he sighs.

“I swear I’m not hitting on you, I know you like girls.”

“Shut up.” Trini mumbles. He laughs quietly and brushes his fingers through her hair until the both fall into a slumber, exhausted, but content and Trini thinks to herself before she falls asleep...

_One down. One to go._


	5. they say that dreaming is free (I wouldn't care what it cost me)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "26" by Paramore.
> 
> woof this is a rollercoaster of a chapter, hope you like it! comments are welcomed and loved!

When they wake up the next morning, Trini orders them a whole lot of room service as Jason showers, and when he exits, limping on his leg and wincing as he does, he sits down on her bed and frowns at her.

“How can you afford all this?” He asks. Trini chuckles under her breath.

“I’ve been working four jobs over the last five years and the only thing I ever spent money on was my bike. Everything else was bills, gas and groceries. No luxuries whatsoever.” Jason whistles sympathetically.

“Four jobs. Shit.”

“Yeah, well...I got kicked out of home, so...” Jason grimaces and looks at her in shock and she sighs.

“I told my parents I was gay and they didn’t take it very well.” Jason clenches his jaw before he sighs.

“The last five years haven’t been kind to you, either, huh?”

“Nope.” Jason sighs again and runs a hand through his short hair.

“How did everything get so fucked up?” He mutters. Trini shakes her head.

“I don’t know. But that’s why I’m trying so hard to fix it.” Jason’s shaking his head now, standing as he does.

“No, no way. None of this is your fault, Trin.”

“I left-.”

“Yeah, you did. But we were okay. It took a long time but we were okay. Then I got injured and I just...I gave up. And I shouldn’t have.” 

“Jason-.”

“No one’s to blame here is what I’m trying to say, Trini. Sometimes circumstances just happen and we can’t control it. But we can fix it now and that’s what matters.” 

“Yeah...but I have no idea how to fix our problem.” Trini sighs. Jason frowns.

“Kimberly...why would she go back to Ty? I don’t get it.” He mutters.

“I don’t know, but he’s not treating her right and we have to get her out of there-.” She’s interrupted by loud knocking at her door.

“Room service.” She stands and opens the door, and Jason’s eyes widen as the elderly maid walks in with a table full of food.

“Oh thank god, I’m starving!” Trini chuckles as he opens one of trays and grabs a plate of pancakes.

“Figured as much. Thanks.” Trini hands the maid a twenty dollar bill, and she watches Jason sternly before looking at Trini, who smiles sheepishly.

“He just stayed the night.”

“Uh huh.” She raises an eyebrow at Trini, who sighs and pulls another ten bucks out of her pocket and hands it to her. The maid grins.

“Thank you.” She walks out and Trini shakes her head in disbelief as Jason drowns his pancakes with maple syrup.

“I haven’t had proper food in so long.” He groans. Trini smiles and grabs a strawberry from the cart.

“You’re welcome.” She says simply. He grins as he shoves a whole pancake into his mouth. 

She calls Zack and Billy and tells them to come over at Jason’s request while they eat breakfast, and when they finish, Jason moves from stress eating to continuously gripping and squeezing Trini’s hand from where they’re both lying on the bed, a look of terror and also excitement on his face.

“What if they’re angry at me?”

“They’re not, Jason.”

“But what if they are?”

“I’ll punch them in the face.”

“Trini, I abandoned them. They tried so hard to help me and I just kept ignoring them, if they hate me, I don’t blame them-.”

They’re interrupted by a knocking at the door and Jason’s throat suddenly closes up, a high pitched whine escaping him before he jumps up from the bed.

Trini moves to the door and answers it, and Zack smiles widely at her as soon as he sees her.

“Hey. Long time no see.”

“Hey.” She hugs him tightly, closing the door slightly behind her to keep Jason from view before she reaches over and grabs Billy, hugging him tightly as well. When she pulls away, she sighs and looks up at them both.

“Take it slow. He’s still recovering as far as I’m concerned. He’s a lot better, but...he needs us. Now more than ever.”

“Of course.”

“He thinks you’re mad at him.” 

“What?” Zack throws the door open and walks in, and Trini jumps as he comes a stop at the foot of the bed and faces Jason with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Yeah, I am mad at you! I’m mad at you for thinking I’m mad at you! Get over here, Scott!” He practically jumps at Jason, engulfing him in a hug and Jason blinks rapidly in shock before he hugs him back, tears in his eyes as Zack pounds his back and shakes his head.

“I’m not mad, dude. I’m just...fuck, I missed you.” Zack says softly against his shoulder. Jason nods against him, gripping onto Zack’s shirt as he sniffs loudly.

“I missed you, too, man.” They eventually pull apart, and Zack grips Jason’s face in his hands before pressing a hard kiss to his forehead.

“So the Power Rangers are back, eh?” He crows, and Jason laughs and shakes his head.

“Not yet. We’ve gotta help Kimberly-.”

“Jason?” All three of them freeze at the sound of Billy’s voice.

He’s still in the doorway, watching Jason with wide eyes filled with tears, and Jason finally lets go of Zack and takes a step forward, his expression pained as he smiles sadly.

“Hey, Billy.” 

And then Billy is running forward and embracing Jason, crying into his shoulder as Jason hugs him tightly, tears falling down his face.

“I’m sorry, Billy. I’m so sorry.” He whispers.

“We got you back man, that’s all that matters.” Billy chokes out, and Jason nods and looks up at Trini, who brushes away her tears from her cheeks and smiles as he mouths the words ‘thank you’ to her.

They’re almost home.

There’s just one missing.

_I have to get her back. I need to make this family whole again._

*****************

“Are you sure about this, Trini?” 

Trini squares her shoulders and looks over at Zack, who is looking up at Kimberly’s apartment building with a frown.

“Going in on my own is what got Jason back. Maybe this will get Kim back.”

Trini sighs as Zack nods slowly before looking around them.

“I wish he was here.”

“He and Billy need to talk. And we need to save Kim. Now remember, if I get in, I’ll message you, alright?”

“Got it.” 

“If I don’t message you in ten minutes-.”

“Ty got a hold of you and has probably killed you-.”

“Not helping, Zack.”

“Right, sorry. I’ll come charging in to save the day.” Trini nods, then sucks in a deep breath and nods to herself.

“Okay.” She makes her way forward, throws one last glance at Zack, who smiles at her encouragingly, then makes her way inside the apartment building.

She makes her way to the door numbered three, stands in front of it, then finally picks up the courage to extend her hand and knock.

“Kim? It’s me, Trini. Just me. I don’t know if you can hear me, but...we got Jason back. It’s why we’ve been gone for a while, why I’ve been gone, I was helping Jason, and-and I did. He’s okay, he’s doing so much better and...and he really wants to see you. He misses you a lot-.” 

There’s the sound of locks and chains rattling, and Trini’s heart skips a beat.

It’s rare, but on the days that she does open the door, Trini can’t help but get excited. The thought of seeing Kimberly’s face, even for a moment, fills her up with joy.

The door cracks open and Kimberly peeks a glance, sees it’s only Trini there, then opens the door widely. 

“Hey.” She whispers. Trini tries her best to smile, tries her best to ignore the cut on Kimberly’s bottom lip, tries her best to focus on the fact that she’s opened the door for the first time...

“Hey.”

“Are...are the others with you?” She whispers again, and Trini almost collapses when she steps forward a little, out of the doorway and into the hallway as she looks around anxiously.

“I...no. I mean, Zack’s out front, but I told him not-.” Kimberly’s eyes go wide and she’s retreating back in, but Trini reaches out and takes a hold of her hand.

“No, don’t! I’ll tell him to leave, just...don’t shut me out. Please, Kimberly.” She begs. Kimberly’s bottom lip trembles and she looks around with wide eyes again.

“If he sees me with the guys, he’ll...he’ll get mad.” She croaks out. Trini bites down her anger and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath in before exhaling as she nods.

“I’ll tell Zack to go.” She says more firmly, opening her eyes to see Kimberly pursing her lips.

“Stay here. Please.” Trini whispers. She nods, and Trini watches her for a second more before she’s running out back into the entrance. Zack’s eyes widen when he sees her, and Trini practically rips her bag off her back and throws it at him. He grabs it, looking at her in shock as she digs her keys out of her pocket and throws them at him as well.

“Trini, what the-.”

“Take my bike back to the Hotel. Get out of here.”

“Trini-.”

“She’s talking to me, Zack. She’s talking to me but she can’t have any guys here because of Ty, so I need you to go. Go, take my bike and get out of here. I’ll message you later!” She’s running back into the building before Zack can say anything, and when she reaches the apartment, Kimberly is still waiting outside it, but she’s hesitating, Trini can see it in her eyes-

“Kimberly, stay with me!” She grips her hands again, and Kimberly looks at her with wide eyes filled with tears. 

“Take me.” She whispers. 

“What?” Trini steps forward, and Kimberly looks at her before she throws herself forward and suddenly embraces her, her arms wrapping around Trini’s neck tightly as she buries her head into Trini’s shoulder.

Trini’s in complete shock, unsure of what to do when she feels Kimberly’s lips at her ear, a shiver running up her spine as Kimberly whispers softly.

“Get me out of here. Just take me somewhere. Please.” Trini’s nodding before she can stop herself, and she pulls Kimberly off her slowly before gripping her hand.

“Come on.” They move out of the back entrance to the apartment building, Trini’s heart pounding as she grips Kimberly’s hand tighter and moves out into the sunlight.

Kimberly stumbles a little, pauses and takes a deep breath in, smiling as the sun hits her skin, and Trini squeezes her hand.

“How long has it been?” She asks. Kimberly’s eyes open and she sighs.

“Too long.” She whispers back. She begins moving again, leading Trini this time as they make their way past a whole bunch of cars in the back parking lot and out onto the sidewalk.

“Where are we going?” Kimberly asks.

“Wherever you want.” Trini tells her. Kimberly smiles nervously, and Trini grips her hand.

“Kimberly, stay with me, okay? Stay with me in this moment, I know you’re scared, but...” Trini trails off when the sweater Kimberly’s wearing rides up and exposes her forearms.  
Her forearms that are littered with cuts, some of them scarred, some of them scabbing over, and some of them fresh, some still bleeding slightly-

She can’t help the whimper that escapes her, and Kimberly’s smile fades before she’s suddenly ripping her hand out of Trini’s grasp and then she’s backing off, shaking her head as she bites down on her lip.

“I-I shouldn’t have done that. I...why did I leave? I need to go back-.” She’s making her way back now, back to the apartment building, and Trini is frozen before she realizes her opportunity is slipping away from her.

“Wait, no, wait, Kimberly!” She’s running after her, and she wraps her arms around Kimberly’s waist from behind. Kimberly struggles against her.

“No, don’t! Trini, I have to get back-.”

“Kimberly, he’s not going to hurt you, I promise! Kimberly!” She spins her around and grips her face in her hands, and Kimberly’s whole body is shaking as she looks at Trini in complete and utter terror.

“He’s not going to hurt you. Stay with me.” She begs softly. Kimberly swallows loudly and shakes her head.

“You don’t understand.” She says hoarsely.

“I know I don’t, but Kimberly, I’m begging you...I’m begging you, don’t go back to him, please.” Kimberly’s bottom lip trembles before she reaches up and grips Trini’s wrist, slowly moving them away from her face as she shakes her head.

“Why do you care?” She whispers.

“What?” Trini manages to gasp out through her tears. 

“Why do you care so much?” Kimberly asks again, a little more firmly this time. 

And Trini’s bottom lip trembles.

And her heart breaks.

And she feels like she wants nothing more than to collapse onto the ground and cry for the rest of eternity.

Because she’s hit with the realization that there was no getting over Kimberly Hart for her.

That she’s still unconditionally in love with Kimberly Hart and she has been from the moment she set eyes on her on her first day at Angel Grove High.

“Because, I...” She can’t get the words out, can’t form them, and she’s shaking her head, and Kimberly’s watching her, and Trini knows this won’t end well, can feel it in her in already breaking heart, but the words form, and they explode from her like a set of fireworks that have been lit and ready to fire for the last five years.

“Because I love you.” It’s soft, soft and broken and filled with emotion, and her knees are knocking together from how badly her legs are shaking, and Kimberly is staring at her, staring at her, staring at her, why is she staring-

Kimberly steps forward, touches Trini’s cheek and brushes away her tears with her thumb gently.

And then she’s leaning in, and suddenly, Trini doesn’t know or care about what lies in her future, and doesn’t care about what happened in her past.

The only thing that exists is this moment.

This moment where Kimberly’s forehead rests against hers for a split second before her lips brush against Trini’s, soft and barely even a graze before she leans in closer, brings their bodies together to unite in this one moment that Trini is positive she has never and will never experience again.

Both of Kimberly’s hands are gripping her face now as she kisses her more firmly, and she can feel Kimberly’s tears on her face, can hear the soft moan escaping her as she grips Kimberly’s elbows and pulls her in, wanting more of her, needing more of her-

Kimberly pulls away breathlessly, looks into Trini’s eyes for a long moment before she’s letting her go and stepping back, and her expression is blank, her eyes are lifeless as she shakes her head.

“It isn’t enough.” She whispers.

Trini lets out a cry of pain as she falls to her knees, and Kimberly’s turning her back to her and walking toward her apartment building before she breaks into a run, refusing to look back at the damage she’s caused with three little words.

Trini’s aware that she’s loud, doesn’t have it in her to care. She’s crying like her world has ended, and truly, it has.

She hears the sound of a motorbike coming to a stop before she hears Zack calling her name, and then his arms are wrapping around her from behind and lifting her up off the ground.

“Trini, what happened?” His voice is demanding, strong, everything Trini wants to feel and everything she’s positive she’ll never feel again. 

“It’s over.” She chokes out.

“What?” Zack breathes. Trini can’t do it. She can’t save her.

“It’s over.” 

******************************

She’s not sure how long she’s been lying in her Hotel bed for, not sure how long Jason’s been gently stroking her back, or how long Zack’s been pacing or how long Billy’s been attempting to come up with another plan.

It feels like years, but she’s sure it hasn’t been that long.

She can’t stop.

All she can remember is Kimberly’s lips on hers and the fact that she’s gone now.

“Trini...” Jason’s voice is soft in her ear, and all she does is turn around and bury herself into his side, resting her head into the crook of his arm as he sighs and rubs gentle circles into her arms.

Trini thinks he might feel that he owes her after everything she’s done for him.

Trini doesn’t know that Jason’s simply doing this because he loves her.

“We’ll try again tomorrow.” He whispers. Trini shakes her head.

“There is no tomorrow. I can’t save her.” She whispers back. 

“You thought you couldn’t save me. Here I am.” He murmurs. Trini looks up at him.

“It’s different.”

“Why?”

“Because I love her. I love her and I left her and I broke her. This one’s on me.” 

Jason doesn’t respond after that, and Billy eventually sighs and calls it a day. Zack gets up to leave, and Jason hesitates when Zack asks him if he wants to come back to the trailer with him and Billy.

“Go.” Trini says hoarsely.

“I can’t leave you, Trin.”

“I’m gonna be okay. It’ll be good for you to go with the boys.” She says softly. He’s frowning, and Trini touches his forehead to get him to stop.

“You’ve been with me for a week. I’ll be okay. Go.” She attempts to smile, but her lips quiver, and Jason sighs before he leans forward and kisses her forehead gently.

“If you need me, call me. Please.”

“I will.” He finally detaches himself from her and makes his way out with Billy and Zack, throwing her one last encouragingly smile before he closes the door behind him. 

Trini’s left to her own torturous thoughts, and she curls up into a ball on her side and tries to stop her mind from screaming, but it’s no use.

She can’t do this.

She jumps up from her bed and grabs her bag and her jacket, and she’s leaving her Hotel room before she can stop herself.

She jumps onto her bike and drives, doesn’t stop driving, even when the darkness falls over her and the night creeps on, she drives until she reaches the Cliff.

Their Cliff.

She doesn’t know what compels her to come here, but it’s like she never left.

She jumps off her bike and her feet seem to lead her exactly to where she wants to go. 

After what feels like hours, she’s at the Cliff, sweat dripping from her body because she’s been climbing and walking for ages, no super speed or super strength to get her here quickly, and she looks down at the chasm before her.

She can’t jump off it.

The fall is too deep. She knows this. And now that she has no powers to save her, there’s no going back. 

There’s no going back to the ship, and yet that’s the only place she wants to be right now.

All she wants is to train in the Pit, to knock down Putties and to hear Alpha 5 cheering her on, hear Zordon tell her she’s improving immensely, that she’s more than exceeding his expectations, that she’ll make a fine Yellow Ranger, one the old Yellow Ranger would be proud of.

She wants to have the other four by her side, kicking ass in training and smiling and laughing like they used to...

She lets out a scream, hears it echo into the night, lets out another one that goes on until she’s red in the face and there’s tears falling down her face, and she collapses to her knees and cries.

This is what it means to feel hopeless.

She’s not sure when exactly she falls asleep, but the sun rises and hits her in the face, and that’s what brings her back to consciousness, the warmth of the sun as she squints and blinks rapidly before she groans as the pain floods her body.

She stands slowly to her feet and makes her way back off the Cliff, and the sun has completely risen by the time she reaches her bike again.

She’s drenched in sweat, her whole body is pounding with pain, but when she gets on her bike, she doesn’t head back to her Hotel room.

She doesn’t even head to Zack’s trailer.

She doesn’t even know how she ends up at Kimberly’s place, but she does. 

Her body is acting on its own, and her mind is screaming at her to turn back, to head to her Hotel room, but she’s suddenly coming to a stop in front of the apartment building a jumping off her bike, making her way to the front entrance and into the building before she sees number three’s door is slightly ajar.

She comes to a stop.

A weird feeling of déjà vu hits her as she remembers Jason, and this time she doesn’t say anything.

She moves forward and slowly opens the door, wincing when it creaks loudly.

There’s the loud sounds of a TV blaring, and Trini steps through and sees a hallway with an opening to the left in the middle.

She makes her way toward it slowly before she peers around the corner.

There’s a couch with its back turned to her, and she can see the back of a head of someone with blonde hair, sees a hand raise a bottle of beer and skull it and Trini can hear the sounds of a football game playing, but the floating head is keeping it hidden from view.

She steps forward slowly, and that’s when she sees her.

Next to the TV, curled up into a ball with her head resting on her knees, is Kimberly. 

There’s a loud belching sound from the person sitting on the couch, and Kimberly looks up slowly.

Trini digs her nails into her palm.

There’s a bruise forming around a cut on her cheek that’s bleeding profusely, and there’s bruising around her jaw and her lip is swollen. Her expression is a mixture of pain and grief as she looks at the person on the couch, who Trini realizes is Ty, and then Kimberly’s eyes meet hers.

Pain and grief is replaced with terror, and something else.

Hope.

Trini remembers Jason. Remembers the look in his eyes before she took him away...

“Get me another beer.” Ty’s voice is gruff, not like Trini remembers it in High School, and Kimberly is still watching her behind Ty with wide eyes, doesn’t hear him when he speaks, and Trini doesn’t know what to do, because there’s no way she can get to Kimberly without him seeing-

“HEY!” He suddenly throws the beer bottle in his hand at Kimberly’s head, and she ducks just in time as it shatters against the wall above her. 

They both jump in shock, Kimberly’s shaking hands covering her head as he stands and points to the right toward the kitchen.

“GET THE FUCK UP AND GET ME ANOTHER BEER YOU USELESS BITCH!” He’s inches away from her now, screaming into her face and then he’s raising his fist-

Trini’s jumping over the couch and then her small, small hand is wrapping around his gigantic wrist and pulling him back.

He spins around, a look of confusion and shock on his face.

And then Trini punches him.

He staggers back into the wall, and Trini kicks him straight in the head until he falls back against the wall a little harder this time, denting it.

Then she’s grabbing him by the shirt and laying her left fist into his head once, twice, three times, four times, five-

“Trini!” Kimberly grips her hand and pulls her away, and Ty slumps down to the ground, his face a raw and bloody mess and the pain doesn’t register in Trini’s left hand but she can see it shaking, can see the broken skin-

She grabs Kimberly and pulls her into her, and Kimberly’s crying, hugging her tightly, and Trini swallows down her disbelief, her fury, her passion, her energy and she grabs Kimberly’s hand and drags her.

“I’m getting you out of here.” She says firmly.

“You’re...not taking her...anywhere.” Trini stops and turns to see Ty is standing now, and in his hand is a long shard of glass from his beer bottle.

He spits out blood, and Kimberly, brave, stupid, idiotic Kimberly, throws herself in front of Trini.

“I’m not. I’m staying here. Just let her go.” She says firmly.

“No fucking way-.”

“Trini, don’t.” Kimberly pushes Trini behind her, and Trini watches Ty get closer and closer-

“You take another fucking step, and I’ll kill you.”

Kimberly whimpers.

Trini cries out in relief.

They both turn to see Jason, Zack and Billy standing there, all of them walking forward slowly, Jason barely even wincing as he limps toward Trini and Kimberly, and all Trini sees is the Red, Blue and Black Rangers.

Jason’s leading the charge.

He grips Trini’s elbow and pulls her back before grabbing Kimberly and doing the same until they’re both behind him.

Ty looks at him and scoffs before he laughs.

“Jason Scott? Seriously-.” 

He doesn’t finish his sentence. 

Jason strikes him, and then he’s throwing Ty into the wall and his fist strikes out and hits the wall beside his head so fast and so hard, that Trini thinks it’s a blessing he wasn’t aiming for Ty’s head.

It would’ve killed him.

He’s in Ty’s face now, glaring at him as Zack and Billy walk up to either side of Jason, both of them glaring at Ty.

“You’re gonna leave Kimberly alone, or we’re gonna come back and make sure that the next beating you get is your last one.” Zack says, his voice quiet, but dripping with venom. Ty looks at all three of them, and Trini steps forward slowly until she’s right next to Jason. Ty glares at her, and then he’s scoffing again.

“You think you scare me?” He spits out, blood dripping from his mouth.

“We should.” Billy says quietly.

“Oh yeah? Why?” Ty jeers. Trini moves forward and Jason takes it has his cue.

He lets go of Ty, and Trini’s smirking as she replaces his hands with her own before leaning in close to Ty’s face.

“Because we’re the fucking Power Rangers. And killing you...wouldn’t be the first time we’ve killed.” 

She sees the hesitation in Ty’s eyes.

And when she lets go of him, and steps back to join Zack, Billy and Jason, and Kimberly steps forward to stand beside Billy, his eyes grow wide.

“Holy shit.” He breathes, and Trini knows now that he believes them. 

“If you’re not out of Angel Grove in the next twenty four hours, I will personally see to it that your arms are ripped off and shoved so far up your ass, you’ll be tasting shit for the rest of your life. Got it?” Zack growls. Ty nods furiously, and Jason nods once.

“Good. You better get started.” Ty nods again and then he’s running, tripping over the cords around the TV as he does, and Kimberly is glaring at him, but her eyes fall down when he passes, tears falling down her face before she looks up at all of them. They hear the sound of the front door slamming, and Trini lets out a sigh of relief as Kimberly lets out a shaky breath.

“I...” She doesn’t get a word out.

Jason rushes forward and embraces her, wrapping his arms around her tightly and she’s sobbing into his shoulder, gripping him fiercely as he brushes her hair back and coos softly.

Zack and Billy look at Trini, and she smiles at them with tears in her eyes. Zack leans in.

“You did it.” He whispers. Trini shakes her head.

“Not yet.” She says hoarsely. Jason finally grips Kimberly’s shoulders and peels her off him before looking at Trini.

“Let’s get her out of here. The Hotel?” Trini nods, and she reaches out for Kimberly, who grips her hand tightly as she leads her back out of the apartment, her mind racing and her heart pounding, but one thing reverberating loud and clear.

That however damaged and broken they all are, she’s got them back.

She’s got her family back.


	6. strange how we found ourselves exactly where we left off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Grudges" by Paramore.
> 
> Hey guys sorry this is a short one but i'm super, super, incredibly sick atm, which means updates might be a bit slow as well, maybe every second day, it depends on how long it takes for me to get better :( I'm sorry, hopefully this sickness will be gone soon!
> 
> There's only a couple more chapters left, so hold on to your buttcheeks!

When they reach her bike, Trini’s heart is pounding as she sits Kimberly down on it before placing the helmet on her head gently and sitting in front of her.

Kimberly’s grip around her waist is tight as Trini starts the bike and watches in the mirror as Zack, Billy and Jason enter Billy’s car behind her.

She leads them back to her Hotel, and when they reach, she parks her bike in one of the spots and sits there. Billy parks next to her, and Trini winces as the pain in her hand begins to hit her. She hisses under her breath, moves her finger an inch. She can’t uncurl her hand from around the bike handle.

“Trini?” Kimberly’s voice is soft and sends shivers down her spine and she can feel Kimberly’s weight disappear from behind her as she jumps off the bike and takes the helmet off, reaching out and curling her hand over Trini’s gently.

“Slowly.” She whispers. Trini lets Kimberly guide her hand, hisses at the pain before she gets off the bike as well and turns to stare at her. Kimberly smiles softly, and Trini reaches out and touches the cut on her lip. Kimberly sighs into her touch, and looks at Trini with sad eyes.

“Do you really think he’s gone?” She whispers.

“He better be. I meant what I said. If he comes back, I’ll kill him.” Trini says quietly. Kimberly shivers, and Trini shakes her head and grips her hand.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

The boys walk up to them as Trini wraps an arm around Kimberly’s waist and leads her inside.

As soon as they’re back in her Hotel room, Trini steers Kimberly into the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

“Are you okay?” Trini asks quietly. Kimberly’s bottom lip trembles and she lets out a shaky breath before shaking her head.

Trini pulls down the toilet seat and pushes Kimberly down to sit on it lightly before reaching for one of the hand towels on the rack. She douses it in water before lifting Kimberly’s chin up to the light. She presses the towel to the cut on her cheek, and Kimberly winces before she looks up at Trini with a sad smile.

“I wanted to leave for s-so long-.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Kimberly. I’m just glad we got you out of there.” Kimberly sudden grips her wrist and Trini pauses, watching her with wonder as she shakes her head.

“When you left-.” She stops, her voice cracking as tears fall down her face. She clears her throat and starts again.

“When you left, I thought it was over. I didn’t have any fight left in me...and I held on to this hope that maybe you would come back. But you didn’t. And then I started thinking that maybe-maybe I was to blame for you leaving. The letter...” Trini’s breath catches in her throat as Kimberly reaches into the pocket of her sweater and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper that looks like it’s been folded a hundred times over.

“You said in the letter that leaving me was the hardest part, but it was necessary. I’ve wanted to know what you meant by that for so long...and now I know. You were in love with me, even way back then. And I was so fucking blind that I didn’t see it, and if I had...if I had then you never would have left. Because if I had, I would’ve had the courage to tell you...to stop you-.”

“Tell me what?” Trini interrupts with a whisper, brushing a strand of Kimberly’s hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. Kimberly licks her lips before she touches Trini’s hand on her cheek.

“I should’ve stopped you. But I didn’t. I should’ve ran after you, chased you down, flown my Zord through the whole of L.A to find you but I didn’t. Instead I hid myself away from the others and I watched Jason...god, I watched Jason fall and I didn’t lift a finger to help him and then I went off and...with Ty, and...fuck, what did I do?” Kimberly’s crying now, her voice hoarse and Trini sinks down to her knees and takes Kimberly’s face into her hands.

“Kimberly, don’t you dare blame yourself for any of it. Not even for a second. Sometimes shit happens and we can’t stop it or-or change it or fix it, but look at us. Look at us, we’ve been torn apart for five years and now we’re back together, all of us.”

“Thanks to you.” She whispers. Trini shakes her head.

“I’m one person, Kim. Zack and Billy, the strength they’ve had over the last year to keep fighting, to keep hoping that they could bring everyone back together again...god, the determination Jason’s shown in the last week after almost a year of addiction and pain and suffering...and you. You for doing what you did today, for standing by our side, for staying with us, for choosing not only us but yourself over Ty...we’re strong individually but we’re so much stronger together. I only played a part in this, we all did this together.” Trini’s trying her best to stay strong, but she can hear her voice quivering, and she smiles as she leans in and presses a kiss to Kimberly’s forehead.

“I know it’s gonna take time, but Kim, we’re here. We’re here for you and we’re never, ever leaving. Never again. I promise.” She whispers against her forehead. Kimberly nods against her, gripping her shirt as she pulls away and looks up at her.

“About...that kiss-.”

“It can wait. It can wait forever if it has to. Right now let’s focus on you. Are...are there any other injuries?” 

Trini doesn’t want to talk about that kiss.

Doesn’t want to hear Kimberly tell her it was a heat of the moment thing, or a mistake.

She wants to hold on to it for just a little longer.

Kimberly shakes her head slowly, bites down on her lip with hesitation, and then nods.

“Where?” Trini asks softly. Kimberly sighs before she stands, and she’s gripping the bottom of her sweater and lifting it.

Trini’s eyes scan over the tanned skin of her stomach, and she swallows the lump in her throat as the tanned color of her skin turns blue and black, splotched around her ribs as if paint had been thrown at her and had etched itself into her skin. 

Trini reaches out, touching the bruises with the softest pressure possible, and goosebumps erupt on Kimberly’s skin as she shivers and looks down at Trini with tear filled eyes.

“Does it hurt?” Trini murmurs.

“It’s not too bad.” Kimberly whispers hoarsely. Trini sighs before she stands and takes Kimberly’s shirt into her hands, dropping it down and smiling at her.

“You can take a shower if you want, I’ve got some spare clothes that might fit you...” Kimberly suddenly chuckles as she takes a fistful of Trini’s shirt in her hand and twists her fingers around it.

“Yeah, you always liked wearing baggy clothes.” She says, and Trini laughs breathlessly, overjoyed at the sight of Kimberly smiling so fondly, as if she’s flashed back to their High School days, back when everything was so simple...

“I’ll be outside with the boys, okay? If you need me, call.” Kimberly nods, and Trini smiles before she steps out of the bathroom. 

“How is she?” Jason asks immediately as soon as she closes the door behind her. Trini nods.

“Bad. But good. She’ll pull through, we’ve just gotta be there for her.”

“Of course. Whatever she needs.” Zack says, smiling. Jason grabs Trini and pulls her into a hug, kissing the top of her head as he does.

“Thank you, Trin.”

“No, thank you. God only knows what would’ve happened if you guys didn’t show up.” Trini mutters. 

“We thought we could maybe talk to her on our own, we didn’t think you’d be there...” Billy says, frowning. Trini pulls away from Jason with a sigh.

“It’s over now. Hopefully he’s gone and never coming back.” 

“If he does, I’ll kill him. I mean it.” Jason says.

“So do I.” Trini says, nodding as she thinks about the bruises on Kimberly's body and finds herself clenching her fists tightly to contain her anger.

“So what happens now? Where will she stay?” Zack asks.

“Here with me, I guess. Your trailer can’t exactly fit us all.” Trini says, smiling.

“Yeah, but you’ve already been here a month, Trin. You can’t afford to stay in a Hotel room like this forever.” 

“I’ve got money.”

“I know you do. But maybe we can start thinking about looking at a place. All five of us.” Zack says, but suddenly, Jason’s shaking his head as he looks at Zack with hesitation.

“Not yet. It’s...it’s too soon. Kimberly and I need time. It’s still hard for me...I don’t think us living together would help us right now. We need time to heal.” Zack frowns, but nods, and it’s silent for a few moments before Billy suddenly pipes up.

“Do you guys...do you guys think that know we’re all back together again, we’ll be able to go back to the ship? To being Power Rangers?” 

It’s silent once more, and Jason frowns before he suddenly clenches his fists and looks down at them in wonder.

“I don’t feel any different. Do any of you?” He asks, looking up at them. When they all shake their heads, Trini sighs.

“Maybe that’s a good thing. Like Jason said, we need time to heal. We can’t just go back to being a team overnight, we need to form that bond again.” 

“Yeah...” Billy nods once, and he’s looking at the other three with something akin to awe in his eyes and Trini steps forward and punches him in the arm lightly.

“You really miss being a Ranger, don’t you?” She whispers. Billy smiles sadly.

“More than anything.”

*********************

The boys leave eventually, not before they tell Kimberly to stay strong and that they’ll be here as soon as possible tomorrow. Trini can see the pain in Jason’s eyes as he limps toward the door, and she grips his hand and tells him to hold on.

He says he wouldn’t dream of letting go and kisses her forehead gently before Billy claps him on the shoulder and tells her he’ll make sure he doesn’t.

When they leave, Trini turns to see Kimberly sitting cross legged on her bed and hugging a pillow to her chest.

She’s been relatively quiet for the last few hours, her eyes watching the sun set outside with tears falling down her face, but none of them had approached her.

They know that when she’s ready, she’ll talk to them.

So Trini contemplates sleeping on the floor. Setting up a bunch of pillows and leaving Kimberly on her own.

But, as if her body has a mind of it’s own, she’s walking over to the bed and laying down in it, her hand held out as Kimberly turns to look at her before laying down beside her and curling up into the crook of her arm.

Trini brushes her fingertips against Kimberly’s arm, up the length of it and down as she rests her chin on top of Kimberly’s head.

They’re silent for a long time until Kimberly grips her shirt and moves her head to rest on Trini’s chest.

“I’m glad you’re back.” Kimberly whispers. Trini smiles and brushes her lips against Kimberly’s head.

“So am I.”

It’s silent again, and then Kimberly’s crying, her whole body wracking with sobs and Trini doesn’t need her to talk, she just holds her close, coos gently as she brushes gentle circles on her lower back, trying her best to be as comforting as she can.

_We need time._

And oh, how Trini thanks God, even though she doesn't believe in him, that this time, unlike so many times before in the past, they have it.

They have time.


	7. a happy ending (but this time you don't leave me sinking)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Pool" by Paramore.
> 
> Nearing the end guys! Only one more chapter left! :O

Ty’s gone.

Trini and Kimberly return to Kimberly’s apartment a few days after the incident to find absolutely everything inside it cleaned out and all of Kimberly’s stuff already packed in suitcases left in the hallway.

“Wow, we must’ve really scared him.” Kimberly says shakily, and then she’s crying hysterically and Trini’s holding her, brushing back her hair and trying her best to be supportive despite the fact that every part of her still wants to hunt Ty down and kill him.

Trini calls Billy and tells him to bring his car so they can get her suitcases back to the Hotel room. Kimberly mumbles something about helping her pay for the room and Trini refuses.

“You guys stress about money too much. I’ve got it locked down, don’t worry.” 

Trini doesn’t want to tell them how hard the last five years have been. Doesn’t want to tell them how she spent a few months on the streets after she’d been kicked out of home, no money and no family to her name until an old lady who owned a diner in L.A had taken her in and had set her up with a job as a waitress. Or that she had to sell the only piece of jewelry she had from her mother, a stunning gold necklace, and her guitar in order to pay for rent in the room above the diner until she got herself a second and third job. 

Her life is good now. No point bringing up the past.

Besides, this is about bringing her family back together. Kimberly and Jason need her more than anything. 

So she bites her tongue and sets Kimberly up in her Hotel room, helps her unpack her suitcase and lets her cry on her bed as long as she wants.

They’re cooped up in the Hotel room for a week before Kimberly finally has the strength to bring herself to leave.

Zack tells them they’re at Krispy Kreme, and Trini drives them both their on her motorbike, with Kimberly clutching onto her waist and her head resting on Trini’s shoulder blades.

When she gets them to Krispy Kreme, she finds Jason, Zack and Billy waiting for them outside.

Jason looks exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, and Trini frowns as she gets off her bike. He walks up to her, and Trini is surprised when he pulls her into a tight hug.

“Last night was bad.” He says hoarsely. Trini sighs and grips onto his back, one hand reaching up to stroke his hair.

“It’s okay, you’re okay...” He nods against her shoulder, sighing as he pulls away and smiles at her before looking over at Zack and Billy.

“They...they didn’t take it too well. Do you mind...do you mind if I stay with you again?” Trini bites her lip with hesitation, but when she sees Zack and Billy’s wide eyes, Billy looking incredibly distraught and Zack looking even more exhausted than Jason, she sighs and nods with a smile.

“Of course not. I’ve got your back.” 

They all eat in awkward silence, and Trini sighs because this isn’t what she wanted. She thought it would be better.

They have a lot of healing to do.

“Okay guys, enough.” She eventually pipes up. They all look up at her in shock and she sighs.

“Tomorrow, before nightfall, at the Cliff. We all meet up, have a bonfire, and we talk. Just like old times. We talk about everything we’re feeling, everything we’ve felt in the last five years, and we don’t bottle any of it up. Whether it’s anger, or grief, or sadness, or rage, whatever it is. We let it out.”

“Trini-.” Zack starts, but Trini shakes her head.

“We need this. We need to heal, and sitting here eating donuts and not talking isn’t healing. It’s just existing in a space that’s uncomfortable. Enough, it’s time for us to fix this for real.” 

“She’s right.” Jason says hoarsely. Kimberly’s silent, but she suddenly reaches out and grips Trini’s hand under the table tightly. Trini squeezes her hand back lightly before she gives her a small smile and looks back at the others.

“Alright.” Billy agrees. Jason nods, and Zack sighs before he nods once. 

“Okay.” Kimberly says softly. Trini smiles again and stands, throwing down a twenty dollar bill on the table.

“You guys mind dropping Jason off at my Hotel? I miss my trash son, I want him back.”

“Gee, thanks.” Jason says, but he’s grinning, and Billy nods.

“Yeah, no problem.” 

There’s something unspoken between Billy and Zack, and Trini kind of wants to hit them because they said they would be supportive, but they’re being anything but supportive.

But she feels it isn’t her place.

She only had to handle this for a few weeks. They were dealing with it for a year.

So she stays silent as Kimberly clambers onto the bike behind her and shoves Trini’s helmet on, stays silent until Billy and Zack pull up behind her when she parks her bike in the parking lot of the Hotel. Jason exits the car, lifting his backpack onto his shoulder and Trini walks up to the car and throws Jason her Hotel room keys.

“Here. You and Kim go, I’ll be there in a sec.” He frowns, but nods once, and Kimberly looks at her with confusion before Jason puts an arm around her shoulders and they both walk toward the Hotel entrance.

Trini bends down as Zack lowers his car window and stares at her.

“I get it. I do. It’s a lot in a short amount of time. But Jason’s feeling your hesitation and your fatigue and it’s getting to him. So have the day off, and then tomorrow, you let him know how you feel. No matter how bad it is, you let him know.” 

Zack blinks back tears and lowers his gaze from Trini before nodding, and Billy is clenching his jaw as he nods. Trini taps the car and walks away, heading toward the entrance of the Hotel as well. 

When she reaches her room, Jason is offering the maid a twenty dollar bill as she pushes in a tray full of food. She looks at Trini as she enters and raises an eyebrow.

“Dos personas ahora, eh?” She says, and Trini is shocked for half a second before she sighs and pulls an extra ten out of her pocket. But the maid shakes her head and pockets the twenty Jason gave her.

“No puedes mantener esto, saben que algo está mal.” Trini frowns, but nods regardless.

“Gracias.” She says instead, and the maid nods before she walks away. As soon as the door shuts behind her, Jason looks at Trini with a worried expression.

“What did she say?” He asks softly. Trini smiles.

“Nothing. Just that she didn’t realize I was Mexican. Everything’s fine.” Jason nods, and Kimberly sits down on the bed with a sigh.

“Do you really think tomorrow is a good idea?” She asks. Trini nods.

“It’ll be good for us to just put everything out on the table. I think Zack and Billy were only thinking about getting you guys out of your situations, not about what would happen after.” 

Jason runs his hand through his hair and nods. 

“They were...shocked, yesterday. Really shocked. Billy didn’t handle it very well and Zack was trying to help us both at the same time, it...it wasn’t good.” 

“Well, I’ve got it. Don’t worry.” 

“I still don’t know how you managed to do it for a while week, Trini.” Jason says, shaking his head and scoffing in disbelief.

“I’m a woman of many talents. Now...what should we do for dinner?”

**************

It’s one of the worst nights of Trini’s life.

For a while, it seems like everything is perfect. Trini orders pizza and they all sit around Kimberly’s laptop, watching movies and laughing as they enjoy each other’s company.

Then ten o’clock hits, and it’s like the entire mood shifts.

Jason sighs and rubs his eyes tiredly, and within ten minutes he’s shivering, cold sweat forming on his forehead as he clenches his fists and bares his teeth.

“Breathe, Jason.” Trini tells him, rubbing his back gently, and he’s nodding, hugging his knees as he bites down on his forearm.

Trini looks up at Kimberly to see her looking at Jason with wide eyes filled with terror, and she’s moving away from them both, shaking her head as she grips her hair and closes her eyes.

“He won’t hurt me, he won’t...” She’s whispering, more to herself than anything, and Trini looks at her in shock before she’s jumping up and gripping Kimberly’s wrists lightly.

“Hey, no, no, of course he won’t. Jason would never hurt you, Kim-.” And then it hits her. Kimberly looks at her with sad eyes as her chest heaves and Trini blinks back tears and shakes her head.

“That’s what it was, wasn’t it? He was on drugs and you couldn’t leave because he wouldn’t let you.” Trini breathes. 

And Kimberly shakes her head.

“I didn’t leave because part of me wanted to help him. Part of me thought I could.” She chokes out. 

“Oh, Kim...” Trini hugs her, unable to do anything or think anything other than how beautiful of a human Kimberly is.

What a contrast from her high school self...

“You shouldn’t have stayed. I know you wanted to help but he was hurting you, Kim, fuck...”

“I know, but...I loved him once. I couldn’t let that h-happen to him-.”

“Trini!” She pulls herself away from Kimberly to see Jason growling as he rocks back and forth, his whole body trembling, and Trini can see how green his face is-

“Shit.” She runs toward the side of her bed and grabs the bin, shoving it under Jason’s face just in time.

Jason sticks his face into the bin and Trini sighs and presses her forehead against his back, wrapping herself around him as he cries, resting his chin on the edge of the bin.

“Breathe, Jason, shh...” She whispers. 

Trini looks past Jason to see Kimberly rocking back and forth in the couch in the corner, tears falling down her face and Trini doesn’t know what to do.

She’s stuck between two people she loves. 

Jason eventually falls back against her with exhaustion, and Trini gently lowers him down and takes the bin from his hands. She sets it down and turns him onto his side, not wanting him to choke on his own vomit should he vomit again.

She looks down at herself, the sleeve of her shirt covered in bile and she sighs and gently peels the shirt off herself before walking into the bathroom. She throws it into the sink and runs water over it, washing her hands in the process before she makes her way back out.

Kimberly is at the bin now, lifting the plastic bag and tying it and Trini stares.

“You don’t have to-.”

“Let me do something, please.” Kimberly breathes. She looks up at Trini, and her eyes go wide when she sees Trini’s not wearing a shirt, only a bra covering her chest and Trini feels her cheeks turn bright red.

“Uh, sorry...”

“It’s okay. I’ll take this to the bin chute outside...” Kimberly’s out of the door without a backward glance at Trini, and she sighs and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Jason, come on, wake up. You’ve gotta have some water.” He groans, and Trini lifts him up into a sitting position before lifting the bottle to his lips. He takes a small sip, gags on it, sputtering water everywhere, and Trini’s thankful she hasn’t put a new shirt on yet.

“Slowly, come on, Jase...” He takes the bottle from her with a shaking hand and takes a long drink, a soft groan escaping him as he stops and hands it back to her.

“T-Thanks.” He gasps out.

“Get some rest, shh...” She lowers him back down onto the bed, and Jason curls up under the blankets, shivering as he does. She hears the sound of Kimberly walking back in, and Trini doesn’t look at her, grabs a shirt from the small wardrobe next to the bed and shoves it on. 

“How is he?” Kimberly asks. Trini turns to face her and shakes her head.

“Not good. But he’ll make the night. You need some sleep, too.” 

“I can’t. Not now.” Kimberly whispers. Trini sighs and takes her hand.

“Come on.” She leads her over to the couch, grabs a spare blanket from the wardrobe and when she lies down on the couch, she scoots over onto her side and pats the space beside her. 

Kimberly smiles sadly before she lies down beside her, and Trini wraps a hand around her waist and rests her head against her shoulder. 

Kimberly’s shivering against her, and Trini pulls the blankets over them a little more tightly, but when her shivering doesn’t stop, she realizes it’s not from the cold.

“Shh...you can let it out, it’s okay.” Trini whispers.

“I don’t wanna wake him up.” Kimberly croaks out. Trini looks up at Jason in her bed, sees him shivering under the covers, and she sighs.

“Trust me, he’s not sleeping either.” 

And it’s like a floodgate opens.

Because once Kimberly starts crying, she can’t stop.

She’s sobbing, her whole body heaving and Trini is pressing gentle kisses to her shoulder subconsciously, not even aware that she’s doing it, but figuring it must be working a little because Kimberly doesn’t stop her. 

It’s a few hours until Kimberly eventually passes out from exhaustion, and Trini waits a little longer before peeling herself out from beside her and stepping off the couch stealthily. 

She makes her way to Jason, and he looks up at her weakly from underneath the blankets, his shivering mostly gone now as he smiles.

“W-We really are the biggest bunch of s-screw ups, aren’t w-we?” 

And Trini shakes her head.

“No...because we’re still fighting.” 

And Jason’s bottom lip trembles before he nods, determination flooding him as he reaches out to grip Trini’s hand.

She stays with him until he falls asleep, and then Trini finds herself playing ping pong for the rest of the night, moving between Kimberly and Jason whenever one of them makes the slightest noise, Jason with his breathy sighs, Kimberly with her soft whimpers...

She doesn’t even realize she’s crashed out until she hears the sound of something clanging against the ground, and she jumps up with a loud cry, her eyes looking around wildly.

She finds Jason and Kimberly looking at her, Jason chuckling and Kimberly giggling as Jason suddenly lifts a tray of food and carries it toward her.

“For you, milady.” He says, smiling as he uncovers the lid to expose a stack of pancakes.

“What’s the occasion?” Trini asks hoarsely, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“No occasion. You’re just the best of us and you deserve the world.” Kimberly says, smiling softly as she sits down beside Trini and takes her hand.

“What time is it?” Trini asks, yawning a little. 

“About four in the afternoon.”

“What the fuck?” Trini jumps up, but Kimberly’s dragging her back down. 

“You were up all night, Trini. We weren’t gonna wake you up and force you to take on the day. Don’t worry. Once we finish here, we’ll go to the Cliff. It’s time for us to face this head on.” 

Trini looks at them in disbelief, and Jason rolls his eyes.

“Eat your pancakes, Trini.” 

As soon as all three of them are showered and fed, Trini calls Zack and tells him to come pick Jason up. 

They meet the boys downstairs, and Jason sighs as he jumps into the backseat of Billy’s car.

“Straight to the Cliff, alright?” 

“Got it. How’d it go?” Before Trini can answer, Jason pipes up.

“Horribly. But we can talk about it at the bonfire.” Trini sighs, and Billy pulls out of the driveway as Trini clambers onto her bike, Kimberly climbing on behind her.

When they reach the Cliff, the sun is setting, only its rays peaking over the horizon, and Zack is pulling timber out of the trunk of Billy’s car.

When Trini pulls her bike up next to Billy’s car, she removes her helmet and raises an eyebrow at Zack, who shrugs.

“I had some wood at the trailer, I figured why not.” 

Jason and Zack set up the bonfire, and Trini, Billy and Kimberly grab snacks from a backpack Billy brings out. 

As soon as the fire is up, they all sit around it, and Trini feels a wave of nostalgia hit her.

It’s like they’re in High School all over again, spending their days training and their evenings around a bonfire, talking about their lives, their worries, their Ranger duties...

“Who wants to go first?” Zack asks. Trini looks around, and Billy suddenly sighs and stands up.

“I’ll do it.”

He takes a deep breath in, looks at Jason, and then he shakes his head.

“I don’t mean to be an ass, man. I don’t mean to be scared, or frightened, or upset, and I definitely don’t mean to be unsupportive because I’m not. I’m so happy that you’re okay Jason, but...you gotta understand, man, being a Ranger was my whole life. And after we lost our coins, and I saw you and Kimberly fall into this black hole that I couldn’t save you from, I felt hopeless. I felt like I wasn’t even worth being a Ranger anymore. I felt like there was nothing about me that was good, or worth living. I just watched you both fall, and my mom’s been grilling me, asking me why I haven’t applied for any colleges, why I’m wasting my life and I don’t know how to tell her that all I ever think about is becoming a Ranger again. That all I ever think about is helping my friends, but not having the strength to do it and...man, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Jason, I’m sorry, Kimberly, I’m just...I’m sorry.”  
His voice shakes and cracks, and his gaze drops to the floor as he shakes his head. Jason stands and walks over to him, embracing him in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry.” Billy says again.

“Shh, it’s alright, I’ve got you.” Jason tells him. Trini looks up at Zack, who shakes his head and throws another stick into the fire.

“It’s been hard on us.” He says suddenly. Jason pulls away from Billy and turns to look at Zack, who stands and sniffs as he ruffles the back of his head.

“I don’t think Billy has to apologize for anything. You want me to be honest, I’ll be honest.” He says, looking at Trini before looking back at Jason, the fire in his eyes only intensifying as the sky darkens and the fire becomes brighter.

“You left us. You injured your leg, and we supported you, but you left us. You chose drugs over us, and we all fell apart. I tried so fucking hard to bring you back, but nothing I said did anything! So why? Why did it take Trini coming back for you to pull your head out of your ass and realize that you fucked up?” 

“Zack-.”

“No, it’s okay.” Jason says, looking at Trini with a smile. He takes a deep breath in before he looks at Zack.

“I did fuck up. I’m not denying it. I was in pain, and I couldn’t handle it. I had Dad breathing down my neck, asking me what I was going to do with my life, why I wasn’t applying for UCLA, why I was wasting my time, why I was suddenly limping, what happened to my leg, what are you doing, Jason, all the time, constantly, and I...I couldn’t do it anymore. I thought just one hit, one hit and I’ll be okay, I can clear my head, but...one hit became a second, and then a third, and I couldn’t stop. It didn’t just help my pain, it got rid of it, Zack. Who could say no to that?” 

Zack is quiet, his jaw clenching, and he throws another stick into the fire and sniffs again.

“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one who had an addiction.” He mutters. Jason looks at Trini with wide eyes, and Billy sighs. Trini looks at Kimberly, who is looking between all of them in confusion.

“I’m an alcoholic-Was. Was an alcoholic. And it’s been fucking tough, because all I want is a drink. I want a drink when I wake up, I want a drink when I go to sleep. Every minute of the day, I’m desperate for one. So I know what you’re talking about, Jason. But that doesn’t mean I can just forgive you for giving up on us so easily.” 

It’s quiet for a few moments, and then Jason nods.

“Okay.” He says simply. Zack shakes his head and scoffs, and then he’s looking at Trini with dark eyes.

“I really want a drink right now.” He says hoarsely. Trini bites her lip, and then Kimberly is standing.

“Fight it, Zack.” She says firmly. Zack looks up at her, and Kimberly moves closer to the fire as she closes her eyes, tears falling down her face.

“I stopped fighting. When Trini left, I didn’t see a point in continuing, or doing anything anymore, I just...I stopped fighting. And I’ve regretted it every day ever since, but I couldn’t bring it in myself to keep going. So I stopped. I wish to God I kept fighting, but I didn’t. So Jason’s not the only one who gave up on us, I did, too. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t fight harder, but losing Trini was the first in a lot of bad things that just kept happening over and over again...” 

Silence falls again, and this time, Trini’s standing.

“This all started because I left.” Jason looks at her, and he starts shaking his head, but Trini holds up a finger to silence him.

“You wanted to know how I deal do it, how I keep fighting for you and Kimberly to push through? Because it’s my fault that you’re like this in the first place.” 

“No, Trini-.”

“You can sit there and tell me I’m wrong all you like, but it doesn’t make my guilt go away. It doesn’t make the pain go away. I left when I should’ve fought harder to stay. When I should’ve told my parents I didn’t want to go. And a fat lot of good staying with them did for me. They kicked me out and I was left on my own, when all along, if I had just stayed, I could’ve been safe, happy, with you guys. I fucked up. I started this whole thing. But I’m here to make it better, I’m here to fix it. But I can’t do it on my own.” 

“You don’t have to.” Jason says straight away. Trini watches, and he sighs and waves them all forward. They all inch closer to him, and he holds his fist out.

“We’re a team. We always have been and we always will be. So it’s time for us to start acting like it. No more bullshit. If we want to do this, if...if we want to be Rangers again...” Trini’s heart begins pounding, and she sees Kimberly and Zack look up at Jason in shock as Billy grins widely.

“If we want to be Rangers again we have to earn it. With or without the coins, or the ship, or our armor...we have to earn it.” Jason clenches his jaw, and when Trini looks at Zack and Kimberly, there’s a new fire in their eyes.

Determination. Excitement.

Hope.

“So let’s start fucking earning it.” Zack says, and then he’s slamming his hand down on top of Jason’s. Billy grins and slaps his hand down on top of Zack’s.

“Man, I’ve been waiting for this day for five years.” 

Trini looks at Kimberly, who bites down on her lip, but not in hesitation.

To stop herself from grinning.

“As long as I have you guys by my side.” She slaps her hand on top of Billy’s, and they all turn to look at Trini, who smirks and shrugs.

“I’ve got nothing better to do with my time.” And she’s slapping her hand on top of Kimberly’s and gripping it tightly.

“Go, go Power Rangers, right?”


	8. I burned so long and so quiet, you must have wondered if I loved you back (I did, I did, I do.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SELF HARM TRIGGER WARNING: SKIP TO ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE WAY THROUGH THIS CHAPTER IF SELF HARM IS SOMETHING THAT TRIGGERS YOU.
> 
> Oh also there's a little bit of sexy times, it's minor though tbh, not the worst you've read, trust me, haha.
> 
> i broke tradition, the last chapter title isn't from a paramore 'after laughter' song, but their lyrics are depressing and this is a happy ending! also that quote is beautiful and very fitting for this chapter! :D
> 
> well this is the end of it guys! I hope you enjoyed it, I might disappear for a few days or weeks depending on how long it takes me to write the current fic I'm writing (spoilers: it revolves around halsey's new album) so don't take my absence as me not writing anymore! I'm just working on something super special for you guys!
> 
> That being said, I hope you guys loved this, and for the last time, comments are appreciated! :D

Trini thought it would get better after that bonfire. That maybe they’d finally be able to move past everything that’s happened to them.

And the truth is, it was on its way to getting better.

Until Kimberly gets that damn phone call.

She wakes up one morning about a week or so after the bonfire to find her bed empty, no one beside her, and she’s so used to Kimberly’s weight beside her that she notices it instantly. She calls out Kimberly’s name, but silence is the only thing that meets her.

When panic begins to settle in, Trini looks up to the bathroom door to see it’s closed.

She’s about to roll over and go back to sleep when it hits her that the water isn’t running.

The room is completely silent.

She frowns and sits up again before standing and making her way to the door.

“Kimberly? You in there?” She knocks on it, and there’s no reply. Trini frowns and knocks again.

“Kimmy? What’s going on, you alright?” When there’s no reply once again, she knocks again, and then panic is really starting to settle in now.

“Alright, I’m gonna come in, so if you don’t want me to see you naked, you should say something!” She says with a nervous chuckle.

Again, no reply.

Trini’s heart suddenly begins pounding because she can feel something is wrong.

So she pounds harder and screams louder until she eventually slams her small body against the door and to break it open. It takes a few tries, and her shoulder is aching by the time the door breaks from the frame and collapses against the sink. 

And Trini finds Kimberly in the bathtub with red soaked water covering her naked body and her arm hanging over the edge, blood dripping from her fingers and landing on the razor on the ground next to the tub.

And Trini is screaming and jumping into the water, not caring about her clothes, not caring about the fact that Kimberly is naked as she lifts her out of the water and jumps in behind her, holding her close and grabbing her arm, fingers pressing down with bruising pressure on the long cuts across her wrist.

“Shit, Kimberly! Kimberly, open your eyes!” She’s crying, unable to see because of the tears falling down her face as she turns the overhead shower on, lets the water fall on Kimberly as she slaps her cheeks with her other hand in an attempt to wake her.

She feels for her pulse, feels it thrumming lightly against her index and middle fingers, and she whimpers and stands, ripping off a long cloth from the bottom of her shirt and wrapping it around the wounds on Kimberly’s wrist like a tourniquet before she lies back down behind her.

“Kimmy, come on, come on, fuck...” She slaps her again, a little harder this time, and when Kimberly groans and winces as the water hits her face, Trini lets out a choked sob and hugs her close, one shaking hand still wrapped around her wrist like a vice. 

“Stay with me, Kimberly, stay with me-.”

“Trini?” Her voice is shaking, and then her other arm is reaching up and grabbing Trini’s arm around her chest as Trini presses gentle kisses to her soaked hair.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you...” 

They stay in the tub for a long time, Trini holding Kimberly tightly as she breathes shallowly, and eventually, the bleeding stops. Trini turns off the overhead shower and they sit there in silence, the water washing over them as Trini eases her hold a little.

“I’m gonna get you out of the tub, okay?” 

“I’m sorry-.”

“Shh, don’t focus on that, just focus on the sound of my voice, okay?” 

Trini stands and grabs a robe from the back of the broken down door, and Kimberly gets up on shaking legs, almost falling before Trini catches her, arms wrapping around her waist as Kimberly sags against her.

“I’ve got you, shh...” Trini isn’t exactly sure who she’s comforting, because Kimberly’s quiet as Trini quickly wraps the robe around her body before walking her into the bedroom.

She lies her down and Kimberly looks up at her with tears in her eyes.

“One of Ty’s friends called...he’s dead, Trini. Overdose. He l-left town, and I-I wasn’t there to protect him, to stop him from taking t-too much and now he’s d-dead-.”

“No, shh, this isn’t your fault, Kim, fuck...I’m sorry.” Kimberly breaks down crying, and Trini holds her, brushing hair back as she grips Trini tightly and cries into her chest, and it’s a few hours before she eventually falls asleep, still whimpering, but no longer crying.

And Trini peels herself out from under Kimberly’s body and walks into the bathroom.

She calls the maid, and when she arrives, she looks at Kimberly, wrapped up in a robe with blood spots on the sleeve, to Trini, covered in wet clothes that also have blood stains on them, to the door, that’s broken down against the sink. 

“What happened?” She asks firmly, and when Trini doesn’t answer, she repeats herself in Spanish.

“Necesito tu ayuda, por favor.” Trini chokes out, and the maid watches her with wide eyes before they soften.

“Ven aca.” And Trini walks over to her and bites down on her lip to stop herself from crying as the maid hugs her tightly, sighing as she pats her back.

“It’s clear to me that you’re missing a mother, joven.” Trini lets out a whimper, and the maid lets her go and cradles her face in her hands with a gentle smile.

“Consider me your mother today. Now come on, let’s clean this up and try not to wake her up.” She nods toward Kimberly, and Trini watches in amazement as she walks into the bathroom and stops short at the sight of the blood stained water, before she walks up to the tub and pulls the plug from the drain.

The water disappears down it, a loud sucking sound echoing throughout the bathroom as the maid walks back into the bedroom to grab her cleaning supplies.

Trini helps her clean the bathtub and the floor, mopping up the blood soaked water and draining it into the bucket before throwing the water into the bathtub as well. 

When they reach the door, they both frown, and the maid nods once as she lifts it up off the sink and back into its frame.

“The wood isn’t splintered too badly, it looks like you just ripped the screws out. You’re a strong one, aren’t you? Small but feisty.” She chuckles, and then she’s pulling a screwdriver out of her cleaning supplies and telling Trini to hold the door in place. 

When they’re finally done with the bathroom, she walks over to her cleaning trolley and pulls out a large, black plastic bag.

“When you change out of those clothes and she changes out of the robe, put them in here. I know how to get blood stains out of clothing.” Trini nods once, and the maid smiles and turns to leave.

“Wait! What’s...what’s your name?” Trini asks hoarsely. The maid smiles.

“June. My name is June.” And Trini laughs because of course that’s her name. 

Of course that’s her name...

June leaves, and Trini grabs spare clothes out of the wardrobe and walks into the bathroom.

She peels her clothes off her body, wincing when she has to lift her arms up to take her shirt off, and when she looks in the bathroom mirror, there’s a large bruise forming on the top of her shoulder, blue and black and red with some skin missing too, and Trini sighs and shoves on her new clothes before throwing the old ones into the plastic bag June gave her. 

And then she’s collapsing against the back of the door and crying, crying until she has nothing left in her, until her body is hurting and her eyes are red and puffy, until her heart is no longer hurting.

***********************

Life gets better.

It takes an incredibly long fucking time, but it does.

The boys question why Trini and Kimberly are suddenly quiet, and when Kimberly tells them Ty is dead, they hug her close and tell her they’re sorry.

Kimberly wears jumpers and long sleeved shirts to hide the fresh cuts on her wrist.

The weeks go by and they slowly begin to recuperate.

The cuts fade after a while, turning into scabs before turning into scars, and Trini brushes her fingers over them every night before kissing them gently and Kimberly smiles and touches her cheek and tells her she’s sorry.

Tells her she was weak for just a moment.

Trini tells her there’s nothing to be sorry for.

When Kimberly wakes up from her nightmares screaming and crying, Trini holds her and tells her she’s got her.

And when Trini wakes up from her nightmares of Kimberly dying in that tub screaming and crying, Kimberly holds her close and tells her she’s alive, she’s here...she’s okay.

Jason no longer struggles through his addiction. He still has bad days, when his leg gets too painful and he can barely walk, but Zack, Billy, Kimberly and Trini are right there with him, helping him up and practically carrying him around the place until he starts laughing in their arms, telling them to put him down because their hands are too cold against his skin, or that Kimberly’s hair is tickling his face. 

Billy gets happier every day that Trini sees him. He’s constantly grinning and hugging any one of them whenever he gets the opportunity, and Trini finds it so amazing because Billy has never liked physical contact with anyone. But now, he doesn’t seem to care. Being around them is all he cares about. His mother, apparently, has noticed his change in behavior and he tells her that he finally got his friends back together.

Zack is a bit harder to crack. He still watches Jason with wary eyes, as if he’s going to relapse and abandon them at any point in time, and sometimes, Trini can see his hands shaking from all the caffeine he’s drinking to make up for the lack of alcohol. He eventually breaks down one day, throws a glass against the wall in his trailer and has Kimberly and Trini looking at him in shock, and Jason’s the one to bring him back up, clutching his trembling hand and holding him as he cries, and then he tells them that he misses his mother and he wants her back, and Trini and Kimberly wrap both of them into their embrace, all four of them crying into each other’s shoulders until Billy joins them later on and simply hugs them close to his body as well. 

Kimberly struggles. Everyone can see it, but Trini’s the one who sees it the most. After that day in the bathroom, after Kimberly almost died, both of them struggle to move past it for a long time. Months pass by before they’re nightmares finally end, and Trini listens intently when Kimberly tells her that she’s finally come to terms with Ty’s death. That it wasn’t her fault. That she has to stop blaming herself. And Trini holds her and tells her ‘I told you so’ and Kimberly laughs and brushes a kiss against her cheek that leaves her blushing a deep red.

She stays with Trini in her Hotel room when they’re not at Zack’s trailer, and Kimberly’s parents send her money to help Trini pay for the bill. Trini tells her they probably need to start looking for somewhere to actually live, and Kimberly’s eyes widen as she drops the clothes she’s folding.

“What?” Trini asks her. Kimberly blinks rapidly.

“You mean live together?”

“Yeah. I can’t keep affording this room or else I’m gonna lose all my money, and Zack was saying before that you guys were looking for a place to stay permanently. So, all five of us should move in. I mean we can stay here for maybe another month or so before I run out of money-.”

“You’re staying in Angel Grove?” Kimberly interrupts. Trini looks at her with a frown.

“Well, yeah, of course I am! What made you think I was leaving any time soon-?” 

She doesn’t finish her sentence.

Kimberly jumps onto the bed and jumps into her arms, latching her legs around Trini’s hips and Trini catches her, arms wrapping around her waist as she lets out a little noise of surprise before Kimberly suddenly crashes her lips against her own, her arms wrapping around Trini’s neck.

Trini’s shocked for about half a second before she kisses her back, but the impact of Kimberly jumping at her as thrown her off her feet and she manages to balance her legs forward before they both go crashing against the bed, Trini landing on top of Kimberly as her elbow digs into Kimberly’s ribs and she lets out a groan of pain against her lips.

“Shit, sorry! You surprised me!” Trini jumps off her, but Kimberly’s grabbing her by the shirt and dragging her back down on top of her.

“It’s okay.” She breathes, and then she’s kissing her again and Trini can’t help the moan that escapes her before she shakes her head and pulls away again, her eyes closed to stop herself from falling because her head is spinning wildly.

“Wait, what’s happening?” She says breathlessly, and she hears Kimberly scoff.

“You’re the most oblivious lesbian I’ve ever met in my life.” Trini blinks rapidly and stares at her, and Kimberly chuckles before leaning up and pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“I’ve been wanting to talk about that first kiss for months, but I thought...I always assumed that you were just gonna head back to L.A. after Jason and I were okay. So I didn’t want to push it because I didn’t want to break your heart, or you to break mine, so I stayed quiet-.”

“But-but we had the whole ‘Power Ranger’ talk, we said we were gonna become a team again, how can I be a Power Ranger if I leave Angel Grove, Kimberly?” 

“Fuck, I don’t know, I just didn’t think you were staying because you’ve left before and-.” She’s rambling, and Trini presses a finger to her lips to silence her, Kimberly’s legs still wrapped around her hips and Trini still hovering over her slightly. 

“Kimberly, I’m not going anywhere. Angel Grove is my home, it always has been. I never should’ve left in the first place.” Kimberly’s eyes are glistening, and a small tear escapes the corner of her eye as she chuckles and wipes it away.

“Then you should probably know that the reason I had such a hard time when you left is because it took me losing you to figure out that I was in love with you.”

Trini freezes, and Kimberly sighs and finally detaches her legs from around Trini’s hips, sitting on her knees as she runs her fingers through Trini’s hair.

“I was so lost without you and I didn’t know how I was supposed to keep going on. Five years, fuck...I thought I was getting over those feelings, I thought I was on my way to getting over you, but then you came back and...fuck, everything, everything I ever felt for you came flooding back the second I saw you. I’ve been in love with you for the longest time, and Trini, I swear to god, I’m not letting you go again. I can’t lose you, not now, not ever-.”

“Shut up.” Trini kisses her, unable to keep herself from doing so any longer, and Kimberly groans and wraps a fist into her hair, tugging on it slightly as her teeth nip Trini’s lower lip gently. 

It gets more and more heated the longer it goes on, Kimberly’s tongue swiping across her lower lip and making her groan as her nails rake down Kimberly’s stomach, causing her to hiss in pain as Trini’s lips move down to her neck.

“Are you sure you want this?” Trini whispers against her skin, fingers skating the skin just underneath her bra and Kimberly’s back arches off the bed and into her touch as she bites down on her bottom lip and lets out a small gasp.

“I’ve been waiting f-five years for this, fuck-.” She stumbles over her words as Trini’s teeth bite down on her collarbone gently, and Kimberly runs her fingers through her hair before pulling her up to look at her.

“The only thing that could stop me from wanting this is you not wanting this.” She whispers. 

“Good thing I want you then.” And Kimberly smiles against Trini’s lips as Trini grabs the bottom of her shirt and pulls it over her head, tossing it over the side of the bed without a glance before attaching her lips to Kimberly’s neck again.

She tries her best to be soft, to be gentle, but it’s five years of pent up emotion and it doesn’t help when Kimberly lets out this soft whimper of pleasure when Trini rakes her nails down her skin or bites her a little too hard, and when Trini presses gentle kisses to the almost faded bruises on her ribs, Kimberly runs her fingers through her hair and arches her body off the bed again, almost pushing Trini down to where she wants her, and Trini grins against the skin of her stomach and slaps her hand away gently. 

“This is torture.” Kimberly groans after Trini takes her time undressing her, taking her shorts off and fiddling with the lace of her underwear before she simply straddles Kimberly’s waist and looks down at the sight before her, Kimberly in only her bra and underwear, pupils blown and cheeks flushed...

She’s never looked more beautiful.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, I hope you know that.” Trini whispers. Kimberly smiles and suddenly flips them over, pushing Trini down onto her back and sitting on her hips, and Trini grins and lifts a finger up to stop Kimberly from leaning down to kiss her.

“Who said I’m done?” She says, and then she’s sitting up and Kimberly’s tugging on the bottom of her shirt and lifting it up over her head, and Trini lets her before she adjusts herself a little underneath Kimberly, who’s still straddling her waist as Trini bites down on her collarbone before moving up to her neck. 

“And am I ever going to get my turn-fuck...” Kimberly’s argument dies in her throat when Trini’s fingers slide down her stomach and into her underwear. 

“I forgot to tell you...”Trini whispers into her ear, and it causes a shiver to go up Kimberly’s spine as Trini bites down on her earlobe.

“W-What, that you’re a total power bottom?” Kimberly manages to choke out, and Trini laughs as her fingers begin rubbing gentle circles around Kimberly’s clit. She moans and pushes herself closer to Trini, who kisses the skin above her breast.

“No...well, yes, but also...” She pulls back, and her fingers move against Kimberly again, and she throws her head back and lets out a small whimper of pleasure as Trini kisses her throat.

“I love you, too.” Trini says breathlessly, and Kimberly looks at her with a soft smile and leans in to kiss her, the kiss soft and gentle until Trini’s fingers move once more and Kimberly bites down on her bottom lip with a groan. 

It doesn’t take long for Kimberly to start grinding down against her hand, and Trini’s hand is starting to hurt, but when Kimberly lets out a breathless gasp and Trini’s hand stills, Kimberly groans impatiently and shakes her head, bringing her forehead down to smack against Trini’s lightly as she wraps her hands around the back of her neck.

“Don’t stop, I’m so close, don’t stop...” And despite the pain in her hand and her back, and despite the fact that it’s been a good year since Trini’s had sex with someone so she’s a little rusty, she keeps going, wanting nothing more than to bring Kimberly pleasure, to obey her breathless request for her to go faster, harder-

Kimberly’s whole body shakes as she climaxes, legs clenching around Trini’s hips as she grips Trini’s hair and leans her head down, kissing Trini deeply as she whines against her lips and digs her nails into her back, and Trini holds her close and strokes her down, kissing her back just as passionately, her whole body slick with a sheen of sweat and trembling just as much as the woman above her. 

When Kimberly’s body finally relaxes, Trini presses a kiss to her throat and looks up at her breathlessly.

Her pupils are wide, her cheeks flushed, and Trini wraps a hand in her long hair and presses a kiss to her jaw.

“You’re fucking amazing.” Kimberly breathes, and Trini laughs and kisses her throat again.

“I try.” Kimberly laughs, and then she’s pushing Trini down onto her back, and Trini groans from the pain that flares up it before Kimberly kisses her.

“My turn to try.” She says, and Trini laughs.

“Is this the part where you tell me you’re a power top?” Trini teases. 

“No. This is the part where I show you I am.”

***************

Trini wakes up the next morning, naked under the blankets, and it takes a few moments before the memories of the previous day flood her, and she’s smiling into her pillow, clenching it between her hands before she realizes that there’s no weight in the bed beside her.

She turns, and finds an empty space beside her.

Her heart pounds in her chest wildly, and she sits up, looking around the room in a panic.

“Kimberly!?” She shouts.

“In here!” Trini looks to the bathroom to see the door open, Kimberly’s voice echoing out of it and she lets out a sigh of relief before she stands, wrapping the blanket around her body and moving toward the bathroom with a yawn.

What she finds is Kimberly in her bra and underwear looking in the mirror with a frown, a pair of scissors in her hands as she looks up at Trini in the mirror and wrinkles her nose.

“Should I cut it?” She asks.

“Cut what?”

“My hair.” Trini blinks rapidly, and then she smiles and leans against the doorway.

“I like it long. But I like it short, too.” 

“Yeah, so do I...” Kimberly frowns again, and then she turns to look at Trini, her eyes wide before she chuckles and kisses Trini suddenly, her fingers touching her collarbone gently.

“Jeez, those bruises aren’t going anywhere any time soon.” She whispers against her lips. Trini laughs and touches her neck, fingers skating over the bruises there as well.

“Yeah, neither are those.” Kimberly sighs.

“Zack is gonna give us so much shit.”

“If he does I’ll kick his ass.” Trini grumbles. Kimberly laughs, then looks in the mirror again and sighs, and Trini smiles and takes the scissors out of her hands.

“You love your long hair. Don’t lie.” Kimberly sighs and nods.

“I do. When I cut it all off in High School, it felt good. It felt like I was cutting off all the bad shit that happened to me, but it took so long to grow out...” 

“You don’t have to cut it all off...” Kimberly sighs, but then her eyes widen and she looks at Trini with a grin.

“I have a better idea.”

That better idea has her dragging Trini out of the Hotel within an hour (they got a little distracted during their shower), and making her drive all the way to the hair salon next to Krispy Kreme.

She skips her way inside, holding Trini’s hand and dragging her, and Trini sits down as Kimberly’s lead over to a seat in front of a mirror.

“I don’t want you to look until it’s over!” Kimberly calls out to her.

“Well, how am I gonna manage that?” Trini says, laughing. And then one of the hairdressers walks over to her.

“Do you wanna get something done, sweetheart?” 

And Trini’s about to tell her that no, she’s fine.

But then she thinks about it.

And then she’s grinning.

“Yeah, actually. I do.” 

It becomes a game between them, both of them refusing to look at each other but wanting to know what the other is getting done, and it’s like their two best friends sharing a monumental moment together.

Two best friends who also happen to be lovers sharing a monumental moment together.

Trini’s not sure when she got so lucky, to be honest.

“It looks fierce.” The hairdresser tells her when she’s done, and Trini grins up at her.

“Never thought a bob cut would suit me.”

“It definitely does. Your girlfriend is lucky.” Trini looks up at her again, and she winks before moving, and Trini sees Kimberly’s hairdresser is finishing her off as well.

“Alright, I’m not looking.” Trini calls out, standing from her seat and closing her eyes, and she can hear Kimberly laugh before she hears the sound of footsteps and feels fingers touching the back of her neck.

“Turn around.” Trini turns, and Kimberly is looking at her with wide eyes, but Trini’s pretty sure her mouth as dropped to the ground.

Kimberly’s hair is still long despite some of it being cut, falling just past her chest, but the black in her fades midway into a pink, meshing with the color beautifully in an ombre and curled at the ends. 

“Holy shit.” Trini says, and Kimberly scoffs, her eyes still wide.

“Uh, I could say the same!” She says, touching Trini’s hair, which stops just past her jawline.

“Too short?” Trini asks.

“It’s fucking perfect.” Kimberly says, and she leans in and kisses her, and Trini laughs and kisses her back, hands fisting her now black and pink hair as she looks down at it in awe.

“I’m not getting over this any time soon.” She says.

“Ditto.” Kimberly laughs, tucking a lock of Trini’s hair behind her ear.

They pay the hairdressers, and just as they’re about to leave, Trini gets a call from Zack telling them to come to the trailer for a bonfire night. 

Trini drives them to Zack’s trailer, and when they pull up, they find Zack, Jason and Billy cheering around the fire, dancing like idiots and laughing and Trini and Kimberly jump off the bike as the boys cheer and make their way toward them.

“Trini, Kimberly-HOLY SHIT!” As soon as they both take their helmets off, Zack almost falls over, Jason whoops loudly and Billy’s eyes go wide.

“Your hair!” Zack exclaims, looking at them both.

“Don’t like it?” Kimberly asks.

“It’s badass!” Jason crows, touching Kimberly’s hair and looking at it in awe.

“TRINI, WHY ARE YOU GAY?” Zack roars, jumping up and reaching out to touch her hair. She slaps his hand away and rolls her eyes.

“Even if I wasn’t gay, it wouldn’t happen, Zack.” 

“Oh come on.” Zack says, winking at her, and Trini can’t help but laugh. 

Kimberly smiles and grips her hand, and Zack looks down at their conjoined hands, then moves his eyes up to Trini’s exposed collarbone, then over to Kimberly’s neck, and then he claps a hand over his mouth and jumps up and down.

“Shut up.” Trini warns him.

“What? What?!” Jason exclaims, looking at Zack as he whines against his mouth, jumping up and down on the spot.

“Zack, I swear to god-.”  
“They did it! THEY TOTALLY DID IT!” He bursts out, and he grips his hair before suddenly punching the air and whooping loudly, and Trini clenches her fist, but Kimberly grips it and relaxes her hand by rubbing her fingers as Jason looks at them in confusion before his eyes go wide.

“Oh...OH! OH! OH WHOA!” He looks at them both, and Kimberly rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, okay, big deal, get over it.” 

“I don’t get it.” Billy says, looking at Jason and Zack cheering and whooping with confusion.

“Kimberly and I are...we’re a thing, Billy.” Trini finishes lamely, throwing a glare at Zack and Jason, who are now chanting ‘I knew it, I knew it’ over and over again. 

“A thing?”

“We’re dating, Billy.” Kimberly says with exasperation, smiling at Trini weakly. Billy’s eyes go wide and he frowns.

“I thought you guys were dating ages ago?” Trini blinks rapidly in shock, and Kimberly groans and chuckles weakly as Zack and Jason suddenly barge into them and hug them tightly.

“We’re so happy for you guys! God, we’ve been waiting for you to see how in love with each other you two were for ages!” Jason exclaims. 

“I knew you were gonna take Kimmy to the bone zone, good job, Trin-.” Zack doesn’t finish his sentence before Trini wallops him in the stomach and he doubles over, groaning in pain.

“Okay, I deserve that.” He gasps out.

“Yeah you do.”

“Uh, guys?” They all turn to look at Billy, who has his hand in his pocket, his eyes wide as he pulls out something small and circular.

Small and circular and glowing.

Glowing blue.

“Whoa.” Zack says, suddenly standing up straight before he winces and looks up at them in shock before digging into his own pocket and pulling out a similar looking small and circular disc that’s glowing black.

“It’s the Coins.” Jason says hoarsely. Then he’s jumping up and digging into his pocket and pulling out a red glowing coin.

“Holy shit!” Kimberly grips Trini’s hand, and then Trini gasps when she feels something heavy fall into her pocket.

They both reach into their pockets at the same time, Kimberly pulling out a pink glowing coin and Trini pulling out a yellow glowing coin.

“It’s the coins.” Jason repeats, and then Zack is jumping up and down.

“IT’S THE COINS, IT’S THE COINS!” He yells, and Jason’s jumping up and down with him, wincing slightly when he lands on his hurt leg, and so is Billy, and then Kimberly and Trini are joining them, all of them cheering loudly before Jason yells out.

“Alright, alright, wait! Does...does this mean we can go back to the-whoa!” 

It happens so suddenly.

All of them kind of feel this static electricity jump start through their whole body, and Trini falls back against her bike, her legs shaking and her head spinning wildly as she grips Kimberly’s hand tightly.

Jason and Zack collapse to their knees, and Billy doubles over, clutching his stomach.

“What...the fuck was that?” Zack gasps out, and Trini stands on wobbly legs and clenches her fist.

She feels stronger, somehow.

“Guys...” They all look up at her, and Trini suddenly turns and bends down, gripping her bike from the bottom and lifting it up and over her head with complete and utter ease.

“Holy shit.” Trini breathes, and she looks at Kimberly to see her eyes wide as Trini sets her bike back down.

“Your leg...” Kimberly says, looking at Jason, and he looks up at her before he applies pressure on his leg. He gasps, winces a little, but looks up at them with a breathless grin.

“It’s...it’s not that bad. It’s...it’s not as bad as before.” He breathes, and then he’s sitting up straight and putting all his weight on it, and tears fall down his face as he walks on it.

“It doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” He says, looking at them all in shock.

“We’re back.” Billy murmurs. Trini looks at him breathlessly, her heart pounding, and Jason looks at all of them before he jumps up.

“Come on, let’s go! The ship!” And then he’s running, faster than Trini’s ever seen him run, and Zack follows him, whooping loudly as he jumps high and lands back on the ground, and Billy’s running.

“Come on!” Kimberly grabs Trini’s hand and they’re running together, both of them laughing and cheering and when they reach the Cliffs, Trini jumps up and begins climbing them, faster than that day she spent alone here, trying to get back to the Ship.

Instead of hours, it takes minutes, and the others trail behind her, just like before, just like that first day...

When they reach the Cliff, Jason crows loudly and jumps without hesitation, swan diving down and Zack flips in the air and follows after him.

Billy cheers and jumps after the boys, and Kimberly grips Trini’s hand again and brings her to a stop.

“What?” Trini breathes, looking at her with a grin. Kimberly grins and kisses her, and Trini returns the kiss when Kimberly suddenly grips her shirt and drags her off the Cliff.

“Whoa!” They both fall, both of the screaming before they splash into the water.

When Trini resurfaces, she sees the other four glowing, Zack with a black aura around him, Billy with a blue aura, Jason with a red aura, Kimberly with a pink aura, and when she looks down at herself, she sees a yellow glow around her.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Zack whispers. 

“Come on, Zordon’s waiting!” Jason says, and then he’s diving under the water and the others follow him. 

When they break the surface and fall down through the ceiling, they all land on their feet, a little wobbly after years of not doing this, and Jason is looking ahead in awe.

“There it is.” He breathes. Trini looks up.

The ship’s entrance is right there...

“Come on!” It’s Billy’s turn to run forward now, and as soon as he’s close enough, the ship’s entrance opens. 

The others race in after him, and it’s dark, the lights low as Trini grips Kimberly’s hand before gripping Jason’s on the other side of her.

“Zordon?” Jason calls out.

And then the lights flicker on.

The ship lets out a low, metallic, growling sound and they all jump.

“We did it. We really did it.” Trini whispers. Kimberly grips her hand tightly, and Trini grins at her with tears in her eyes.

And that’s when they hear it.

The sound of a mechanical whirring as something makes their way toward them, bright orange eyes blinking in the darkness before he comes into view.

“Alpha...” Jason runs forward, and he’s hugging the robot close to him, whooping loudly as Alpha 5 chuckles and taps his shoulder.

“Come! Zordon’s been waiting for this moment!” He says.

“Sorry to keep him waiting.” Zack says with a grin.

“Oh come on, it’s nothing! Five years felt like five minutes compared to sixty five million years, now come! By the way...it’s great to see you guys.” Trini grins.

“We missed you too, Alpha.” 

As soon as they enter the center of the ship, Kimberly squeezes Trini’s hand, and when Trini turns to look at her, she smiles.

“I love you.” She mouths. 

“I love you, too.” Trini mouths back.

Then Zordon’s face is blinking into existence on the wall, pixels fading in and out before they set, and he looks at all of them.

“Kimberly...Trini...Zack...Billy...Jason...” They all smile, gripping each other’s hands tightly.

And then Zordon is chuckling.

“Welcome back home, Power Rangers.”


End file.
